Till Kingdom Come
by Rhianna-Aurora
Summary: [Postgame][SquallxRinoa] Ultimecia was defeated.  But now a madman wants to bring her back ... using Rinoa.  And he'll stop at nothing.  Will her knight be able to protect her ... or will he be too late?  COMPLETE!
1. The Beginning of the End

_**Chapter One**  
**The Beginning of the End**_

Her gown was deep purple tonight; ankle-length and flowing. But it still made him think of the night, nearly a year ago, when a doe-eyed girl dressed in a short white dress had asked him to dance.

It was funny, the difference eleven months could make. If someone had told him then that he would fall in love with the slightly silly, moderately annoying young woman, he would have been appalled, and quite frankly, a little offended. Didn't they know him better than that?

But they would have been right. And they would have known him better than he knew himself. Because the "slightly silly, moderately annoying" Rinoa Heartilly was indeed, someone he had come to care for -- and yes, even love -- very much.

She looked up at him from across the room, where she was chatting with Quistis and Selphie, laughing at something Zell said. Her brow furrowed when she saw that he was standing all alone, and she excused herself and resolutely marched over to him.

"You are not only the best-looking guy here," she said sternly as she approached him, "but _also _the guest of honor. And here you are, all by yourself yet again." Her hands were on her hips, her head cocked to one side, and a warning tone was in her voice.

"Just observing," he said calmly.

"Observing?" Rinoa chastised. "Observing _what_, exactly? Your friends having fun at _your_ eighteenth birthday party without you?"

"You know I don't like parties, Rin," he muttered.

"But everyone else _does_," Rinoa remarked smoothly. "And we did this for you. You deserve some fun … it's been six months since we defeated Ultimecia, and you haven't relaxed once, Squall."

"If you let down your guard, you give …"

"… 'give your enemy the perfect opening to attack'," Rinoa finished with a giggle. "How many times are you going to remind me of that?" She gestured grandly at the lavishly decorated ballroom in Balamb Garden with her arms. "But, Squall, we're safe here. How often do you tell me that Garden is the safest place anywhere? Besides, _what_ enemy? We defeated Ultimecia … the Sorceress is no more. So, can't you just … loosen up, or something?"

"Rinoa," he began.

"Don't you 'Rinoa' me, Squall Leonhart," the brunette said firmly. "If you don't … disengage … from this wall right now, I'm going to make you dance with me."

He fought the urge to laugh. She was forever trying to speak "military" to him, but half the time, it just came out wrong. "Wait!" Rinoa cried triumphantly. "That's a -- why, Squall, I believe you are _smiling_."

He shook his head. "Whatever."

Rinoa grinned at him slyly, and leaned forward, gently brushing his lips with her own. "Happy birthday, Squall," she said softly. Then she pulled away and took him by the hand. "Come on, let's go be sociable." She stopped, looked at him and wrinkled her nose. "Sociable, you know, it means when you go and actually _talk_ to other human beings."

He looked at her warily. "Very funny," he said dryly. "But maybe I'd rather just be sociable with _you_ …" He let his hand run down the length of her bare arm, noticed her nearly imperceptible little shiver and inwardly gloated, thinking he'd won.

She narrowed her eyes. "No way, Mister. You're not going to charm your way out of this party."

_Dammit, _he cursed. That almost _always _worked these days. Not that they'd done much more than kiss … but even _that _would have been a very pleasant alternative to this damned party.

"Ah, you got him, Rinny!" Selphie said cheerfully as the couple approached the other SeeDs.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Rinoa asked breezily.

"Of course not," Quistis said. "Rinoa has always had a way with Squall."

Rinoa beamed at the older girl, and then turned her megawatt smile to Squall. "See?"

"It's a conspiracy," Squall groused. "How long is this thing supposed to last?"

"Until the very last person goes to bed," Selphie said brightly. "And it's rude for the guest of honor to leave before everyone else, so …"

"You've got to be kidding me," Squall said sharply.

"Of course she's kidding," Rinoa replied with exasperation. "Like we'd do that to you."

"You would!" he protested.

"Quit bitching. Selphie, where'd Irvine go?"

Selphie's green eyes narrowed. "I have no idea. He was flirting with some redhead earlier and I haven't seen him since. And I don't care. It doesn't even matter."

Rinoa looked at the girl sympathetically. Selphie had been trying for _months_ to get Irvine to confess his feelings for her, and settle into a real relationship, but the sharpshooter was a perpetual flirt, and didn't seem very likely to settle down any time soon. "I'm sorry, Sefie," she said quietly.

"Whatever," Selphie said breezily. "He's an idiot anyway." She rolled her eyes. "I keep giving and giving and _giving_ … and he just …" She trailed off when she realized that the others were staring at her. "Never mind."

Rinoa and Quistis giggled. "You're right, of course," Quistis said. "Most men _are _idiots. Present company … well, included." Even Rinoa laughed, for the look on Squall's face was priceless.

"You're right, Rinoa, this _is _fun," he said dryly.

"Oh, for the love of … Look, over there. It's Zell. Go talk to him about macho things or something," Rinoa said resignedly, giving him a pat on the back. "Since we girls are _so_ boring to you."

"Whatever," Squall said as he headed in the direction of his friend.

Rinoa rolled her eyes. "He's so outgoing," she said good-naturedly as she watched him walk away. The other girls shared a grin as they watched the brunette's eyes become glassy with adoration.

"Sooo," Selphie said. "Have you done it yet?"

"_Selphie_!" Rinoa gasped, in abject horror.

"What?" Selphie asked, eyes wide with innocence. "Rin, we're all pretty much adults here … and you guys have been … well …" She raised her eyebrows suggestively.

"That is absolutely none of your business! And I'm _shocked_ at your blasé attitude. It's not like you've …" Rinoa's eyes widened as she caught the expression on Selphie's face. "Oh, my Hyne … Sefie."

Quistis gasped. "I thought you said you weren't going to until he was willing to make it exclusive?" she said to the younger girl.

"I tried," Selphie said petulantly. "It's _not _like it's that big of a deal anyway. And between you and me … he's all talk."

Rinoa snorted. "Too much information. Really." But she was chewing her bottom lip thoughtfully, looking across the room at the SeeD Commander. "When … I mean, okay, when did it happen?"

"A couple nights ago," Selphie said, shrugging. "I don't really know what came over me, it just kinda … well, he was telling me some silly story and he just looked so cute and then he told me that he was falling in love with me …"

"And you didn't realize it was a line?" Quistis said cautiously.

"Oh, like you're one to point fingers about indiscretions, Quistis Trepe!" Selphie said shrilly, causing Quistis' blue eyes to widen.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Quistis asked coolly, one hand reaching up to fix her hair. It was a nervous habit, one that both Rinoa and Selphie knew meant she was hiding something.

"You know what it means. I've seen you … every night this week _and _last week," Selphie retorted. "Sneaking out of that guy's room …"

"Wait, wait, what am I missing here?" Rinoa asked, brown eyes darting back and forth between her two friends. "Quistis … you have a … guy? Since when? Who is he? I can't believe _I'm _the one with the boyfriend, and you two are the ones having sex!" she hissed.

"I don't know who it is … but she comes tiptoeing back into the girls' dorm every morning around four or so," Selphie said.

"Quistis!" Rinoa said, mouth agape. "I'm … impressed. So spill … who is he?"

"It's no one you know," the blonde said quickly. Too quickly.

"Lying!" Selphie said, pointing her finger in Quistis' face. "Quisty! Why are you trying to hide it from us? We're your friends." She started giggling helplessly. "And it's not like you're doing it with Seifer or something."

Quistis exhaled loudly and refused to make eye contact. Rinoa's jaw dropped again. "Oh, my Hyne," she repeated. "You're sleeping with _Seifer_?"

"Rinoa, shhh," Quistis hissed. "I don't need everyone to know about this."

"When did this charming development occur?" Rinoa asked playfully. "I mean, he's a good kisser, but …"

"It's only been going on for a couple of months," Quistis muttered.

"Months?" Selphie cried. "_Months_? And you haven't told us?"

"It didn't seem important," Quistis said lamely.

"Not important, she says. You went and hooked up with Seifer Almasy! _How_ is this not important news?" Selphie demanded. She was practically jumping up and down.

"We agreed not to talk about it. It was just … a thing that happened … and is still happening …" Quistis laughed a little bit, finally. "But we promised we weren't going to talk about it or say anything to anyone. So you can't let him know that you know."

Rinoa rolled her eyes. "Yeah, because I'm going to go up to him the next time I see him and ask him all about it," she said, smacking Quistis on the arm lightly. "But how did you get _him _to keep his mouth shut? I mean, it is Seifer we're talking about."

Quistis shook her head, biting back a grin. "I have ways."

"Oh, my _Hyne_!" Rinoa cried, putting her hand to her forehead.

"Well, at least we know the whip's good for more than just battle," Selphie quipped.

Rinoa covered her mouth with both hands and laughed. "Sefie!"

"Shh, Squall and Zell are coming," Quistis hissed, clearing her throat. Rinoa couldn't stop giggling and was supporting herself on Selphie's shoulder when the two SeeDs approached.

"What is going on here?" Zell asked, grinning. "Looks like we've been missing all the fun, Squall."

"Mm, I bet," Squall said uninterestedly, eyeing Rinoa carefully. What _was_ she laughing so hard about? "Rin? You all right?"

Rinoa straightened herself up, smoothed out her skirt and cleared her throat, trying to stifle the giggles. "I'm fine," she said. She looked out of the corner of her eye and saw Quistis glaring at her, and she was _done_. The giggles came back in full force.

It wasn't long before Quistis and Selphie had joined her, and the two young men just stood, perplexed at this odd female-bonding ritual. "I'm going to get some more hot dogs," Zell muttered. "You coming, Squall?"

Squall eyed the girls again, one eyebrow cocked in confusion, before nodding his acquiescence to Zell and following him away again.

Quistis whirled on Rinoa once they were out of earshot. "You're going to be the death of me," she gasped out between snickers.

Rinoa's eyes grew huge. "I'm _sorry_, Quisty. I don't even know _why_ it's so funny."

"I do," Quistis said, serious again. "Because it's absolutely ridiculous to even consider the possibility."

"But are you happy?" Rinoa asked, her laughter subsided.

Quistis couldn't fight the small grin that made it's way to her face. "I am. He's … not at all what I expected."

Rinoa nodded. "I know. He can be pretty amazing." She smiled. Had it really only been two years ago that she and Seifer had dated? So much had changed in such a short amount of time. "If you'll excuse me … I'm going to go try and get that boy of mine out on the dance floor at least once."

Quistis and Selphie nodded. "Go for it!" Selphie said. "You and Squall dance so nicely together, it's fun just to watch!"

"See you later," Rinoa said as she walked toward the table where Squall, Zell, and the cute pigtailed girl from the library -- her name was Lia, wasn't it? -- were sitting.

"Hey," she said as she approached.

"Hey," Squall said, nodding his head in the direction of the chair next to him.

She shook her head. "No, I'm not sitting. And neither are _you_." She smiled and held her hand out to him.

"I'm not dancing," he said firmly.

"Yes, you are," Rinoa said. "Because otherwise …" She sighed loudly and got a forlorn look on her face. "I'm going to be very sad."

He rolled his eyes. "Quit that. It doesn't work on me, and you know it."

"Just one dance … and then we can leave?" She smiled widely, showing all her teeth in faux-perkiness.

He thought for a minute, then stood up. "Deal," he mumbled as she led him to the dance floor.

The song was a slow one, and didn't require them to do any intricate steps. Not like the first time she'd dragged him out on the dance floor. The "Waltz of the Moon" was not an easy dance to master, yet they had done it near perfectly that night. That was the first time they had met.

Squall liked this slow song better. It allowed him to just hold her, and breathe in the scent of her hair -- lavender and vanilla -- and feel her skin underneath his fingertips. She rested her head on his shoulder, and her breath on his neck was warm.

He couldn't wait for the song to be over. As soon as the last note faded, he tugged her by her arm out into the hallway and through the empty corridors toward his dorm room.

"Slow down, Squall," Rinoa said, though she secretly liked it when he took charge like this.

"A deal's a deal," he told her as he slid the keycard into his door and waited for it to _whoosh_ open.

She smiled. "So it is. But we didn't even say goodbye to anyone. What _will_ they think?"

"Whatever," he replied, pulling her into his room, and pushing her back against the closed door.

She looked up at him, mischief glistening in her chocolate-brown eyes, a smirk playing at the corners of her lips. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were just _dying_ to get me alone."

He silenced her by crushing his lips down on hers. His hands pushed the straps of her dress off of her shoulders and he lightly trailed kisses down her neck to the exposed skin of her collarbone.

"Mm, Squall," she whispered, excited by his sudden intensity. "What's gotten into _you_?"

He looked up at her, his dark hair falling into his steel-blue eyes. Rinoa felt her breath hitch in her throat at the sight. He was so very beautiful … and all hers. He kissed her again, gentler this time, but with more passion. "Hyne, I love you," he told her between kisses.

She couldn't help the grin that spread across her features, the warmth that flooded her all the way down to her toes. She'd kind of thought that maybe … but he'd never _said _it before! She pulled back from him a little, to look at him closer. "I love you too," she said earnestly.

They both smiled like loons at each other for a moment and Rinoa started giggling again. "Wow. Somehow I thought that would be …"

"Harder," Squall supplied, his forehead pressed up against hers.

"Yeah," Rinoa replied. "But it wasn't at all, was it?" she asked softly, her fingers flicking a stray piece of his brown hair off his forehead.

"No," he said honestly. He grinned at her again and Rinoa would have sworn that there was no sight more wonderful in the entire world. His fingers traced lightly over the bare skin of her shoulders and neck, and soon his lips were following.

His hands were now rubbing her back and sides, wanting desperately to inch slightly higher, slightly more forward, but he wouldn't if she wasn't ready. To his surprise, she lifted his face to hers and kissed him soundly. Then she pushed him back from her, and smiled ever-so-slightly. Her hands moved behind her and slid the zipper of her gown down slowly. When it was unzipped, she held the dress against her and looked at him.

"Rinoa," he croaked. "You don't … have to …"

"Be quiet," she told him teasingly. "I know that. I _want _to." And with that, she let the dress fall and tossed it to the side. She now stood before him, wearing only a lacy black strapless bra, matching lacy panties, and black thigh-high silk stockings with lace trim.

She looked like a freaking goddess. He exhaled loudly, afraid to move too quickly. She looked at him expectantly. "Squall?" she said after a few moments of stunned silence. "Um, you can …" She started laughing. "Just come here, would you?"

He swallowed hard and went to her. Their lips met again, hungrily, like they were going to devour each other. Never in her life had she felt need like this. With trembling fingers, she pushed his uniform jacket off of his shoulders and tossed it aside with her dress. She pulled off his white undershirt and ran her hands tentatively across his well-muscled torso. She liked the way Griever looked against his bare chest, and, feeling somewhat emboldened, traced it lightly with the tip of her tongue.

He shuddered violently at the sensation, and pulled her back toward the bed, "Are you … are you sure, Rinoa?" he whispered, his fingers tracing the contour of her cheek gently.

"Yes, I'm very sure," she told him, leaning forward to kiss him again. "Are you?"

He looked down at the girl beside him, and knew he'd never been more sure about anything in his entire life. "Yes," he breathed, pulling her closer to him. His hands ran along her back, and when they hit the clasp of her bra, he paused.

"Go ahead," she urged him.

His fingers fumbled with the unfamiliar mechanism, and Rinoa tried to keep from laughing. She didn't want to offend him. He looked so cute when he was concentrating like that. He finally managed to unhook it, and tossed the confounded article aside with a mild look of disgust. Then he turned to look at her and forgot everything else in the world.

xXx

_Several Hours Later  
_

Rinoa woke up and stretched lazily, feeling pleasant and loved. She turned her head to look at the man lying beside her, smiling at the memory of the evening … and realized that she was not in Squall's bed … and he was not beside her.

And she was no longer at Balamb Garden. In fact, she didn't know _where_ she was. It was a long, narrow room; dingy and dark. There were no beds, just straw mats on the floor. And there were about twenty other girls there, as well, all of whom seemed to be asleep.

_What in the hell?_ she wondered. She heard movement on her right side and turned. A slender dark-haired girl, just slightly older than herself was sitting on the mat beside Rinoa's. "Rinoa?" the girl whispered when she saw Rinoa looking at her.

Rinoa's brow furrowed. She knew that voice. "Ellone?" she said as realization dawned on her. "What … where are we?"

"I don't know," Ellone whispered. "I was in Esthar, with Uncle Laguna, having dinner. I went to bed, and when I woke up, I was here."

"We're still in Esthar," a third voice said, from just a little farther down the line of sleeping girls. "We're in the bowels of the city, far below Dr. Odine's laboratory. They brought me here … before."

"Matron?" Ellone said, disbelieving.

"Edea?" Rinoa gasped.

Suddenly there was a shaft of light from the opposite end of the room, and a tall man, cloaked in shadows, stood in the doorway. "There are three," he said, mostly to himself. "You will come with me."

Rinoa looked at Edea and Ellone. They stood up, and so she did too, though something told her that this man was dangerous, and that she shouldn't go anywhere with him. But she followed the older women, and they walked to the doorway.

"The three of you are incredibly fortunate," the man said. Now that they were near him, Rinoa could see that he was a handsome man, with blond hair and gray eyes behind wire-rimmed glasses. He was tall and well-built.

"Why is that?" she finally managed to ask him, after she was finished with her assessment of him. She couldn't shake the feeling that there was something very wrong here … and that she'd need to remember every little detail in the future.

"And you are …" He looked down at his notes. "Ah, yes, Rinoa. We found you in the SeeD Commander's bed." He chuckled lightly. "You shouldn't sully yourself with such filth, my dear. You have a much more important purpose."

"You found me in … you took me from Squall's bed? But how did you do that without anyone noticing?"

"Too many questions, Rinoa," the man said, still good-naturedly, but with an edge of danger in his voice. "None of that is important. To that world, you no longer belong."

"What does that mean?" Ellone asked hesitantly.

The man led them into a small room, filled with what appeared to be magical paraphernalia. There were several chairs against the far wall, hooked up to machines of some sort.

"Your destiny awaits!" the man proclaimed.

"How did you get me away from Squall without him noticing?" Rinoa demanded again.

"My dear, dear girl. Why do you insist on asking so many questions?" He sighed. "It isn't important. What _is_ important is the fact that I have found you, at last! We've been gathering girls for _months_, and not one of them has been able to pass the test. But you three, our final three candidates … you've done it."

"Done what, exactly?" Edea asked, arms crossed in front of her.

"You've passed the tests! You are the _true_ descendants of Hyne."

"And what does that mean, exactly?" Ellone said, head cocked to the side.

Rinoa felt the bile rising in her throat. "Hyne's descendant." Hadn't they called her that … before they locked her in the Sorceress Memorial?

"It means, my dear," the man said coolly, "that you will help us bring her back."

"Her?" Ellone continued.

"The Sorceress," Edea breathed.

"You're crazy!" Rinoa cried out. "How do you think you're going to get away with this? Squall will find me. Squall and Zell and Quistis and Selphie … and Laguna and Cid, too. How can you possibly think …"

The man's hand on her wrist was like ice and she instantly froze in place. He … he was using Sorceress Magic. But how was that possible?

"Follow me. I'm taking you to your new rooms. Only the best for the Descendants of Hyne." He released Rinoa's arm, and she could move again. She followed him down the hallway, Ellone and Edea not far behind.

She told herself not to worry, that Squall would find her. He'd never let this lunatic get away with this … Squall loved her. He'd come looking for her.

That was the only thing that kept her moving forward.


	2. Inexistent

_**Chapter Two**  
**Inexistent**_

She sat on the edge of the bed in her new room, and her eyes took stock of her surroundings. The room was sterile-looking, almost _too_ white and clean. There were no carpets or rugs, just a blue- and white-checkered linoleum floor. The bed -- well, it wasn't even a bed, really. It was a cot, lumpy in all the wrong places. There was a single blue blanket upon it. In the opposite corner was a small table, with a lamp on top of it. The lamp's dim bulb was the only light in this place, for there were no windows. And even if there were, it wouldn't have done any good. Hadn't Edea said that they were far underneath Esthar?

The man had said "only the best for the Descendants of Hyne" … _this_ was the best? Sighing, she looked down at her clothes … when she had woken up in the dungeon-like room she had been removed from, she had been wearing a shapeless, off-white muslin dress. That much had not changed. She wondered, not for the first time, what she'd been wearing when she was brought here. Hadn't she fallen asleep after … her face reddened at the thought, and suddenly she felt horribly violated in a way that hadn't occurred to her to feel before.

He had taken her away after the most intimate of acts … just plucked her from Squall's arms like it was nothing!

Her mind drifted back to Balamb and the previous evening. How beautiful it had all been … it was exactly what she'd always imagined it would be like. Squall had been attentive and gentle, and he had held her close afterward, like she was precious. What had he thought, she wondered, when he had woken up and found her gone? Surely, he wouldn't think that she had …

Biting her lip, she blinked back stinging tears. She reached up to finger the rings at her neck and realized with a shock that they were gone. She hopped off the bed and began searching frantically for them, on the bed, on the floor, everywhere in the room. When she couldn't find them, she sank to her knees and choked back a sob.

"We've got to get out of here," she murmured. Whatever this man was planning, there was no way that she, Ellone, and Edea could stick around to find out. They needed to get away, get back to Esthar proper, at the very least. They could see Laguna, he could help them, and he would get in touch with Balamb. Everything would be okay … if they could just get to Laguna.

xXx

Irvine's first clue that something was wrong came at about ten the next morning, when he tried to use his keycard to get back into Garden from Fisherman's Horizon. The light kept flashing red, and making that horrible buzzing noise. "Access denied," the automated voice droned.

"How in the hell is my access denied?" Irvine muttered irritably. "I freakin' live here!" He slid the card again, agitated.

"Access denied."

"Dammit," he swore, kicking the door. He looked down at his card, and his brow furrowed.

_Irvine Kinneas _it read, and gave all of his vital statistics -- birth date, blood type, weapon specialty. But instead of saying Balamb Garden at the bottom, it said Galbadia Garden. That was strange. He'd gotten a new card _months _ago, when he had officially joined Squall's team at Balamb. And he'd gotten rid of his old one, so as to avoid any confusion.

The door suddenly swished open and Selphie and Quistis stepped out, eyeing him warily. "Thank Hyne," he muttered. "The stupid door kept, like, denying my card," he said conversationally to the two ladies. He noticed they were missing their usual third member. "Where's Rinoa?"

Selphie just looked at him, confusion all over her face. "Who?" she asked, blinking rapidly. "Rinoa? I don't know anyone named Rinoa …" She looked over at Quistis, who shook her head, seemingly as confused as Selphie.

_The hell?_ Irvine wondered. "Rinoa Heartilly. Brunette, 'bout so high. Cute. _Squall's girlfriend_?"

Quistis laughed bitterly. "Like Squall Leonhart would ever open up enough to have a girlfriend," she said sourly. "Are you … drunk, or something?"

"No, I'm not drunk," Irvine said evenly. He didn't know what the hell was going on here, but if it was a joke, it was a pretty sick one.

Selphie peered at the laminated card in his hand. "Anyway, your pass says Galbadia Garden, no wonder you can't get in," she replied. "Are you lost?" Her voice was concerned, her green eyes suddenly warmer. She had a soft spot for lost causes.

"Lost?" Irvine repeated. "Sefie, it's _me_. I live here, remember? Last night you called me a 'scum sucking son-of-a-Malboro'?" He thought that maybe she was still pissed about last night … she did have every reason to be, if he was being honest with himself. He probably shouldn't have gone back to Drea's place with her last night, but Selphie just … she expected so much from him. And he liked her, a _lot_. But he wasn't sure if he was ready for everything Selphie seemed to want. And Drea didn't want anything but him. It had been a simple choice at the time … now, though, in the harsh light of day, he was beginning to regret his decision.

"Do I know you?" Selphie asked. She turned to Quistis. "Who is this guy?"

"Is this some kind of joke?" Irvine asked. "To get back at me for being an ass? Sefie …"

"Why are you calling me that?" Selphie said, the warmth suddenly gone from her eyes.

"Why are you acting like you don't know me?" Irvine demanded. "Look, Sefie, I know I fucked up. Can we just go somewhere, and like, talk about it?"

Selphie froze. "I told you, quit calling me that. Look, I don't know who you are, or what you're doing here … but you probably should just go."

"What's going on?" Squall had appeared at the doorway, and he was eyeing Irvine with the same suspiciousness that the girls had given him. "May I help you with something?"

"This guy was trying to get in," Quistis informed the Commander. "But his card says he's from Galbadia. He swears that he lives here."

"I _do_ live here!" Irvine protested. "Squall, seriously, what is going on? And where the hell is Rinoa?"

Squall blinked at the name. "Who?" he asked, brow knitted. He shook his head. "Whatever. Look, you're harassing two of our students, and I think it's about time you left."

Irvine shook his head in disbelief. "I don't know what the hell is going on here, but fine. I'll go … and I'll figure it out on my own." He turned around and headed back into FH. He didn't have a clue what he was going to do now, but something was just … not right. He had the strongest feeling of discontent that he had ever experienced in his life.

Cid was in Trabia, visiting the Headmaster of that Garden. Irvine figured that was as good a place to start as anywhere, and set off to FH to book passage on the next boat sailing north.

xXx

Rinoa, Ellone, and Edea were allowed to have their meals together in the common room just down the hall. The more Rinoa saw of this facility, the more she got the feeling that it had been an asylum of some sort. The idea gave her no comfort whatsoever.

They had learned that their captor's name was Cyrus Blakeslee, and that he had ties to Dr. Odine, somehow. She waited until he left the room, and then turned to her two companions. "We have to get out of here," she hissed. "Whatever he is planning, we can't be part of it."

"I agree," said Edea solemnly. "But how are we to get away?"

"There's got to be some way into Esthar from here. And if we can just get to Laguna … everything will be all right. He can have this lunatic thrown in jail or executed or _something_," Rinoa said hopefully.

Ellone nodded. "Yes, Laguna can help!" she concurred.

Suddenly a cold blast of air spread throughout the room, and Rinoa knew that Cyrus was back. And that he had heard every word. He laughed menacingly. "Do you really think it that easy, Miss Heartilly?"

"Do _you _really think that there is no one looking for us?" Rinoa asked with a bold flip of her hair.

"Are _you _so certain of your importance, Miss Heartilly?" he asked, a cold hand on the back of her neck. "Fine. I will give you two months to get back to your _loved ones_ and see for yourselves. If at the end of the two months you have found what I know you will find … you will come back to me, and the plan will continue as scheduled."

"What is it that you expect us to find?" Edea asked carefully.

He turned his cold gray eyes to the older lady. "Nothing."

He turned back to Rinoa, and his eyes had a frightening glow to them. He fisted his fingers in her dark hair and yanked her out of her seat. "Come on. It's time for a little game," he said, dragging her from the room.

"Rinoa!" Ellone gasped. "Wait, what are you doing?"

"You don't think I bestow such gifts upon you for free, now do you? No, this one, the one with all the questions … she'll be paying for your freedom."

"No!" Ellone cried. "It's not … that important! We don't have to go."

But Rinoa looked at them. "It _is_ that important, Ellone. It's okay. We're going to get out of here, no matter what."

"Rinoa …" Edea said sadly.

"Don't worry about Rinoa," Cyrus sneered. "I'll take good care of her."

He took her down the long corridor and into the room with all of the magical accouterments. He locked the door behind them, and then flung her roughly into one of the chairs along the wall and strapped her into the seat at her wrists and ankles. He began sticking electrodes onto her temples and arms. He tore the front of her dress roughly and stuck them on her chest, his hands lingering longer than necessary. She choked back the bile in her throat and closed her eyes.

She would endure. She _had _to endure. It was the only way she was going to be able to go home.

xXx

He subjected her to numerous painful procedures and experiments. Throughout all of them, he had frozen her in place, rendering her absolutely unable to move. He had passed electrical currents through her body, at varying degrees of intensity, and she had been unable to even scream out. He'd jotted down notes at several points, and Rinoa honestly didn't know what this torture had to do with bring the Sorceress back.

"You're strong, Rinoa," he said after a while. "That was 60V. That would have killed a man twice your size. Very impressive." He seemed almost in awe of her.

"Please," Rinoa managed to croak. "Just … stop." Unable to take any more, she passed out.

He looked at the girl in the chair and was overcome with an overwhelming urge to get closer to a true descendent of Hyne. He unstrapped her from the chair and placed her limp body on the floor. "This will make me even more powerful," he told himself as he joined with her.

She woke up just as he was finishing, and her eyes widened in shock and horror. He pulled out of her and readjusted his clothing. "You … _bastard_," she hissed.

"I told you, Rinoa, that you would be paying for the freedom you so desperately seem to want. I was going to let you leave tomorrow … but I think I'll keep you around for another day or so," Cyrus remarked casually as he wiped his glasses with a cloth, and held them up to the light for closer inspection. "You're actually quite … pleasant. I can see what the SeeD Commander saw in you."

"_Sees_ in me," she retorted blandly. "He loves me. And when I find him … you'll be sorry. He killed a _Sorceress_. You're _nothing_ compared to that." She pulled herself up, wincing from the pain she felt all over.

He slapped her across the face, hard. "You think you're something special, Rinoa, but you'll see. No one even remembers who you are. Not a single one of your friends would know you if they passed you on the street."

She swallowed hard, a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach. "What -- what does that mean?"

"Oh, I think it'll be much better to let you see for yourself. And then you'll come crawling back to me," Cyrus said malevolently. "You don't realize it yet, but you're mine now. The other two will be useful later, but you … you're special." Rinoa blanched as he reached out to touch her. "Tomorrow afternoon. 3 o'clock, you will meet me back here. If you don't … you won't be going anywhere."

She managed to hold back the tears until she got to her room. She saw her reflection in the dirty mirror that hung above the lamp table. Her dress was torn, exposing her in a lurid manner. There were several red welts all over her body from the electrodes. Her hair was in disarray, and her eyes were horribly bloodshot.

She burst into tears at the sight, wondering if Cyrus would _really _let them go. Or if this was all just a cruel game. Would she be tortured and used like this until someone came to find her? And _when_ would they find her?

What was Squall doing now? Was he worried? Angry?

And what did he mean when he said that nobody remembered who she was? Squall wouldn't forget her. He _wouldn't_. They were in love, and you didn't just go to sleep at night and wake up the next morning with your memories of a person completely erased.

He _wouldn't _forget her. He _wouldn't_. She told herself this over and over again as she lie down in her bed and cried herself to sleep.

xXx

Squall lie in his own bed that night, back in Balamb, and stared at the ceiling. Ever since that run-in with that strange guy earlier, the one who said he was from Balamb, Squall had this niggling feeling that he'd forgotten something _very important_.

But he couldn't for the life of him figure out _what _that might be. He sighed in annoyance at himself for being stupid, and reached over to turn off his bedside lamp.

He didn't notice the silver chain that fell to the floor when his hand brushed by it.

The rings made no noise as they hit the rug beside his bed. The wedding band and Griever …

The Promise and the Guardian. Right now, Rinoa was without both. And Squall had no idea.


	3. Lost

_**Chapter Three**  
**Lost**_

He'd gone too far this time. She sat in her room, curled up in a corner on the floor, afraid to move. It all just hurt _too much_. The light seared her eyes, and she had this unbearable ringing in her ears. She wouldn't go to sleep. She couldn't … Cyrus had said, as soon as she slept … "everything would be different." Those were his words exactly. And they chilled her.

She kept repeating over and over to herself, "My name is Rinoa, and Squall is going to save me."

She _hated _having to be saved … but she couldn't get herself out of this one. Damn it … where _was _he? The tears formed at the corners of her eyes and she didn't brush them away.

She'd known something of unspeakable horror was going to happen when she walked into the "torture chamber" (as she referred to it now) that afternoon. Her eyes looked over to the table and saw several instruments that she didn't recognize, as well as syringe full of some kind of serum.

She wanted to turn and run before he noticed she was there. Whatever the hell he was planning … he could just _forget_ it. No fucking way in hell was he going to inject whatever the hell that was into _her _body. She was already at the door, forgetting about going home or _anything_. It was better to be a prisoner here, than to be "free" and pumped full of some poison.

If she'd ever be free at all, that was. She was beginning to seriously doubt that Cyrus would let her go. He had told her that he had let Edea and Ellone go, as promised. She hoped that they were okay, and that they had told everyone where she was. But it had been nearly a week already since that first session in the "lab" with him. And every day, he seemed to find something new and terrible to do to her.

And every day, she wondered if _anyone _was going to come for her.

She made up her mind, then and there. If she _had _to stay, she wasn't going to be some sort of unnatural science experiment. Not anymore. Her hand was on the doorknob, she was just seconds away, when the icy hand (of Death) was on the back of her neck.

"Leaving so soon, Rinoa?" he purred at her ear, causing her to involuntarily gag. He pulled her back roughly, and before she knew it, she was strapped into the chair. And he was coming at her with the syringe.

She couldn't help it, she sobbed. "Please, please, don't. I won't leave. I'll stay here! I promise. Cyrus." She thought using his name would help her -- how, she didn't know, but she'd always heard that you were supposed to do that with attackers. Though the details were fuzzy now, it didn't matter. She just wanted to stay alive and sane.

"I don't want you to stay," he hissed cruelly, and she swallowed hard. "I _want_ you to go back to your precious Commander, and see what's there for you. I want you to come _crawling _back to me, Rinoa. I want to see you beg." He laughed mirthlessly. "And you'll see. There's no one out there who loves you. They don't even know your name." He touched her face gently and she recoiled as best she could while trapped in that chair. "There's only me, now."

"You're lying!" Rinoa practically shrieked. "You're just … saying this!" But in the back of her mind, she wasn't so sure. _What_ purpose would it serve for him to say these things to her? "Squall would never forget me, he couldn't." Her voice was softer now as she had a sudden thought. Squall was her knight. They were bonded -- beyond anything on this plane of existence. A part of him would _always _know her, no matter what might happen. The thought gave her unimaginable comfort, and she looked up at Cyrus with fire in her eyes.

He seemed nonplussed by this. Either he knew nothing about Sorceress' Knights, or he just really didn't care. "I'm going to inject you with this now, and in about four hours, you will fall into a deep sleep. And when you wake up …" There it was, that cold laugh again. "Everything will be different." He stuck the needle into the muscle in her upper arm and she winced from the sting.

Much to her surprise, he didn't do anything else to her that day. Instead, he told her to go back to her room and "wait." She didn't know why, but something about that single word was singularly terrifying.

Wait for what, exactly?

She felt her eyelids growing heavy, and she knew, no matter how much she chanted or talked to herself, fighting off this sleep was a battle she couldn't win.

She only prayed that she would wake up.

xXx

It took Irvine nearly a week to get to Trabia by boat, and he arrived late at night. He cursed the fact that he couldn't have just used the Ragnarok. If everyone back home hadn't suddenly gone _mental_, he could have. He lifted his bag and shouldered his gun, prepared for anything on the trek from the docks to the Garden. The Balamb headmaster had come to offer his support to the ongoing restoration campaign, so Irvine knew he'd be there. He couldn't help but feel irritated. It seemed as though every time the shit hit the fan in Balamb, Cid Kramer was conveniently absent.

He had no trouble gaining admittance to the Garden here, which was a relief, but also a bit disconcerting. Was it _only_ Balamb that had been affected by … well, whatever. Was affected event the right word? He didn't really know _what _was going on, but it sure as hell wasn't normal.

He found Cid among the rubble in what used to be the common room. He was talking to Trabia's new headmistress, the pretty Justina Warner. Irvine had met the woman once, when he had come here with Selphie and Squall all those months ago. To his enormous relief, she smiled brightly in greeting when she noticed him approaching. He remembered -- Selphie had liked and admired Justina -- she was the youngest headmaster of a Garden ever, at only 33-years-old. They'd often teased Quistis that she might be just like Justina someday. Irvine felt a small pang as he remembered his friends and all the good times … good times that they didn't remember, for some reason.

At least, not like he remembered them. Their memories didn't include him, and they didn't include Rinoa.

"Why, Mr. Kinneas!" she said cheerfully. "Come to fetch your headmaster back, I suppose?"

Irvine smiled back easily. "As a matter of fact …" he said, turning to Cid. His heart immediately dropped all the way to the soles of his well-worn boots.

Cid was looking at him, the picture of confusion. "I'm -- I'm sorry. I don't believe I know this young man, Justina," he said blankly, his brow furrowed deeply.

Justina laughed. "Honestly, Cid! Sometimes I don't understand your sense of humor!" She shook her head in Irvine's direction, rolling her mist-green eyes. "All right, I'll play along. Irvine Kinneas … he's a sharpshooter from _your_ Garden! He was with Squall's group -- you know, they defeated the Sorceress."

At the mention of the Sorceress, Cid's head jerked up, an unnatural light in his eyes. "The Sorceress?" he rasped out. "What kind of sick joke is this, Justina?"

Justina was taken aback. "I -- I don't understand," she said, suddenly feeling very ill-at-ease. The Balamb Headmaster had been edgy ever since he'd received that letter a few days ago … but Justina was _sure _there had to be some mistake. It just … it wasn't possible, was it?

"The Sorceress is _not_ _dead_," Cid hissed menacingly. "I don't know why you'd even bring this up."

"Cid …" Irvine started carefully. "Cid, the Sorceress _is_ dead, man. We killed her, six months ago."

"_That _was not the Sorceress!" Cid bellowed, causing both Justina and Irvine to jump. "The true Sorceress still lives! And when I get back to Balamb, I will give the command to my SeeDs to kill her on sight!"

_The hell?_ Irvine thought. What the hell had _happened _over the last week? And how the hell had he become the _only sane person _left from Balamb Garden.

It was then that he noticed the photograph that Cid was holding. It was of a girl, his age, with long dark hair streaked with gold, huge, innocent brown eyes, and a sweet smile.

"Rinoa!" he gasped, reaching for it.

"I _thought _she looked familiar," Justina said, a light suddenly dawning in her eyes. "She's your commander's girlfriend, isn't she? I knew it. Damn."

Cid snatched the picture back from Irvine. "How dare you insinuate that Squall Leonhart would associate himself with the Sorceress!" he spat angrily.

"Wait." Irvine said, holding up his hand. "_What_? Cid, you _married _a Sorceress … I don't know what's going on around here any more."

Cid's face was practically purple with rage now. "The Sorceress _killed _Edea. A week ago. So don't you _ever _say anything like that to me again."

"You honestly think that _Rinoa_ killed Edea?" Irvine asked, incredulous.

"I know, it's unbelievable," Justina said quietly. "And apparently, another girl, Ellone something? Cid received a letter from a doctor in Esthar just a few days ago. It happened on the 23rd."

"This is insane," Irvine said. "Like, batshit insane, if I may be so bold. Cid, listen to me! Rinoa is _not_ the Sorceress. _Ultimecia_ was … but we got rid of her. Rinoa couldn't have done this. The 23rd -- like, that was Squall's _birthday_. She threw a party for him! Everyone was there!"

_But no one remembers Rinoa … _a voice in the back of his mind said, as he remembered the events from earlier that week, on the 24th. When he had asked about her, they had all said "Who?", and looked at him blankly.

He closed his eyes. They didn't know her name. But undoubtedly Cid would show her picture to them all, as soon as he got back to Balamb, make sure that the SeeDs knew that she was Public Enemy Number One, to be destroyed without a thought … wherever the hell she was, she was in _trouble_. Big trouble. If only there was some way to get to the others _first_, make them believe that he was telling the truth.

Another thought occurred to him then. What about Rinoa's natural, gods-given Sorceress powers? Wasn't … dammit, wasn't her knight supposed to keep her grounded, keep her from going to the dark side? What the hell would happen when she realized that her knight wanted to kill her?

Whoever was behind this … that's exactly what they wanted. Sever the bond, bring on the rage … and the Evil Sorceress.

"Son of a bitch," he muttered. "Cid, _listen_ to me! Rinoa did _not _kill Edea and Ellone. She couldn't have. It's not freakin' possible. She was with Squall that night." _If only he fucking remembered her!_ He kicked his suitcase at his feet, feeling all at once sane _and _impossiblycrazy.

Justina looked at him curiously. She was torn. Cid seemed to have damning evidence about Rinoa … but at the same time, his memory seemed as though it had been completely modified.

And Irvine … he remembered everything that she seemed to remember.

So … who were the crazy ones here?

Cid looked at the pair of them, disgust all over his face. "I've had enough. I'm going to bed."

When he was gone, Irvine turned to Justina, hoping he hadn't misinterpreted her. "You believe me, don't you?" he said earnestly.

The young headmistress paused, then nodded. "I do." She blew out an uneasy breath. "Someone wants the Sorceress back. And Rinoa … she has the powers, if I recall correctly." Her brow knitted. "But she has a knight, right? Rinoa's knight … it's your commander, isn't it?"

Irvine nodded. "I have to convince him, somehow, before Cid gets back to Balamb, that Rinoa is _not_ evil, and that like, they're in love, or whatever. If he actually tries to kill her …"

Justina nodded. "It'll start all over again." She pushed her red hair back from her face. "I'll do what I can about Cid. I'll help, however I can."

"First and foremost, get that damn picture from him, and make sure they're aren't, like, any others," Irvine said. No picture was good … they'd have no way to know if they ran into her by accident that she was the Sorceress.

She nodded, "Of course, of course," she told him. She then pulled out a small notepad and a pen from the pocket of her uniform and jotted down a number. "Any time … if you find out anything. You should get back to Balamb, as soon as possible." She paused. "How will I reach you?"

Irvine pondered this for a minute. "I'll let you know. Thank you."

Justina watched the young gunman leave, and hoped with all her heart, that he was up for this daunting task he had just decided to shoulder. With a sardonic smile, she wondered if _she _was.

xXx

When Rinoa woke up, it was dark, and she was _freezing_. She looked around and discovered that she was in a forest, and there were patches of ice and snow all around her. She stood up, and stretched carefully. It was then that she noticed that she no longer wore that awful muslin dress from the lab, but she was dressed in her _own_ clothes -- blue jeans and a royal blue sweater, her chunky-soled brown boots on her feet. She had her blaster edge with her as well, and there was a knapsack at her feet.

Cyrus definitely wanted her to come back alive. But it would never happen. She was free. She didn't know where she was exactly … but she was _free_. She could go home, back to Squall.

She smiled as she thought about their reunion. She could almost _feel_ his arms around her, smell the scent of his cologne. Unbidden tears formed in her eyes, and she brushed them away. She'd be seeing him soon enough. And this nightmare would be over.

She looked around, taking stock of her location. Snow … forest … bitter cold. Trabia, maybe? She wondered where Ellone and Edea were, and hoped again that they were together, at least, and safe.

Resolutely, she picked up her bag (she didn't even want to dwell on the fact that somehow Cyrus had had access to all of her belongings, not right now), and started walking. Eventually, she hoped, she'd come to some sort of sign of civilization.

She walked for what seemed like hours before she finally emerged from the forest, and at the edge of the ocean. She could see the harbor not too far away, and she smiled, thinking she could probably stay at the nearby inn until a boat left for Fisherman's Horizon or the Galbadian continent the next day. She'd be home soon.

She hurried toward the welcoming lights of the Snowy Harbor Inn, and reached for the door at the exact same time as someone else. She pulled back quickly, muttering apologies.

"Rinoa?" the voice -- the beautifully _familiar_ voice -- said incredulously.

Rinoa's head snapped up. "_Irvine!_" she breathed, her eyes filling with unexpected tears. "I'm -- so glad to see you!" She flung herself into the sharpshooter's arms, not caring at that moment about anything but the fact that he was _here_ and he _remembered_ her. She knew Cyrus had been lying. They would all remember her.

"Rin -- are you okay? Where've you been? Do you have any idea what's going on?"

Irvine's questions were an assault on her ears, and she didn't care. "I'm okay, I'm fine now. I'm so glad you're here." She finally released him from her death grip and looked at him. "Everyone else … are they …" She couldn't finish her sentence, for new tears had formed.

They walked into the inn and Irvine tried to find someway to avoid answering her question. "Everyone's fine," he said quietly.

Rinoa cocked her head, as she paid the fee at the desk and accepted her key. "Are you okay?" she asked him.

"Rinoa," he said softly as they walked down the corridor to their rooms. "Edea and Ellone …"

"Oh, did they make it back? I was so worried about them. They left before me, you see, and I didn't know if I was going to be able to leave. And I was worried. So are they …"

"Rinoa, they're dead."

Rinoa froze, her key positioned in the lock of her door, and just stared at Irvine. "No." She shook her head vehemently. "No, they can't …" The tears fell freely from her eyes and her lips trembled. "How?"

Irvine leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. "The word is … that _you_ did it."

Everything fell from Rinoa's hands with a loud thump. "Me? _I_ killed them? Irvine … you know I … I didn't. Does … does everyone know this? Does everyone think that?"

Irvine shook his head, unable to tell her the rest right now. She looked absolutely stricken. "I've been on a boat all week, and I just got here tonight. This is the first I've heard anything about it."

"I have to see Squall," Rinoa said, and she seemed to be speaking only to herself. "I have to get back to Squall. He'll protect me, he'll know the truth." She looked up at Irvine again, eyes overflowing. "He's my knight," she choked out before the sobs finally tore from her throat and she let out a keening cry.

Irvine quickly reached for the tormented girl and held her close to him. He didn't know the hell she had gone through this past week, and he could only imagine the hell that she'd go through soon enough. But for now, she had a point. Either way, they needed to get back to Squall. He ultimately _was_ the only one who could seal Rinoa's fate -- good or bad, light or dark -- it all hinged on the Knight.

"Rinoa, it's okay, it's okay. We're going to go see Squall."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**A/N: **Just wanted to pop and say thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far -- it means a lot to me, really! This story has really taken on a life of it's own, and I feel like I can't write it fast enough! I hope you guys will forgive me for this incredibly angsty chapter. I hate to say it, but it's only gonna get worse before it gets better. Anyway, I hope you'll stick with me:) More to come, very very soon!


	4. Shattered Memories

_**Chapter Four**  
**Shattered Memories**_

"Damn it!" he grumbled irritably, dropping to his hands and knees beside his bed. He didn't know _how_ his freaking glove could have just gone missing while he slept last night. His hand fumbled around underneath the bed, and he paused when his fingers brushed against something cool and metallic.

Frowning, he stretched his arm a little further beneath the bed until he was able to grasp the object. He pulled it out and studied it, his brow furrowed in confusion. Two rings, on a silver chain. One of the rings looked a lot like the necklace he wore around his neck -- Griever. "The hell?" he muttered as he ran his fingers along the lion's outline. He'd been looking for this ring for _months_.

The other ring was smaller, as though it were made for a woman's hand. There was a delicate design etched into the metal; a pair of some sort of flower, intertwined at the stems. He was so lost in thought that he didn't hear the knock on his door, didn't pay any attention at all, until Zell burst into the room, looking frazzled.

Squall stood up quickly and stuffed the chain into the pocket of his leather jacket. "Sorry, man, but Xu just heard from Cid, and apparently he got held up in Trabia. I guess they had more problems there than they had planned on. I was just supposed to deliver the message that he will be 'delayed indefinitely'."

"Great," Squall mumbled. Not like it was any big surprise. Cid was missing more often than not, it seemed. "Anything else?" He didn't _care_, but the sooner Zell filled him in, the sooner the guy would be gone.

Dammit, he hated people. When would they realize that he did _not _want to be their friend?

"Uh, yeah. We're supposed to take Garden back to Balamb and remain stationary until further notice," Zell replied.

"Fine, tell Nida to go ahead."

"Already done," another voice chimed in. Squall looked up to see Quistis standing behind Zell, looking concerned. "Squall, are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" he said shortly. "Look, I don't have time for this. I have training to do. Quit babying me, and just … _move_." He pushed past the two of them and stalked angrily toward the training center.

Zell shook his head and sighed. "Man, I wish he'd loosen up," he said to Quistis, who nodded absently, still staring down the hallway after the Commander.

"Me too," she said after a long moment. "He seems … strange, right?"

Zell shrugged. "Not really any stranger than usual," he said. Noting the expression on the blonde's face, he cocked his head to the side. "You okay, Quisty?"

"It's just … Seifer said something to me the other night, and I thought it was odd."

Zell snorted. "Well, consider the source," he retorted.

"No, Zell, I'm serious," Quistis said firmly. "Selphie told you about that guy, about a week ago, said he lived here, asking about a … Rinoa?"

"Yeah, so?" Zell said, stretching his arms above his head.

"Seifer mentioned her, too."

Zell froze. "Huh?"

"It was the strangest thing … we were talking about Squall, and you know, how surly and anti-social he can be. Well, _I _was talking, Seifer was just making jokes about him … and all of a sudden, he got this weird look on his face and he said 'It was different, when Rinoa was here'. But it wasn't … it was almost like someone _else_ talking _through_ him. I mean, it sounded like him, but something was different. And as soon as he said it, he snapped right back, and didn't remember saying it at all," Quistis said, twisting her fingers nervously.

"That's …"

"Completely insane, I know. But, Zell, what are the odds?" Quistis' bright blue eyes looked worried behind her glasses.

"I don't know," Zell said. "I've never heard of this Rinoa, ever. And all of a sudden, her name keeps poppin' up, like she's someone real important that we've all just forgotten about. I don't get it. If she's that important, why the hell doesn't anyone know who she is?"

"I feel like there's just something _wrong_. And I can't shake this feeling, Zell," Quistis said earnestly.

xXx

Squall walked around the training center for over an hour-and-a-half, taking out his frustrations on unsuspecting Grats and Bite Bugs, wishing desperately for a T-Rexaur to show up. He could use a good workout. He didn't know what was wrong with him lately. Ever since that guy had shown up last week, Squall just hadn't felt right. The other SeeDs, normally just mildly irritating to him, now drove him absolutely out of his mind. He didn't want to talk to _any _of them.

Sighing, he leaned against one of the support beams and studied the palms of his hands with disdain. He hadn't been able to find his other glove, so he'd come to the training center without them, and his palms were now bloody and raw from gripping the hilt of his gunblade, hacking and slashing away at the monsters that roamed freely. He didn't care. The pain was actually a little bit of a relief. At least he knew he was still alive.

He frowned. That was a strange thought to be having. _Whatever_, he thought to himself, pushing off the support beam and turning to head back to his dorm room.

"Squall!" A voice from the other side of the area caught his attention, and he whirled, prepared to verbally assault whoever it was that had interrupted him. But there was no one there. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his head. "Gah!" he cried out, pressing a hand to his forehead, as the pain became so intense that he fell to his knees. This was … familiar?

He could smell the scent of cherry blossoms in the air (_there are no cherry blossoms in the training center_), and his head was resting in someone's lap, but he couldn't seem to open his eyes. He felt gentle fingers brush the hair off of his forehead, felt them trail lightly, almost lovingly, down the side of his face. He had the deepest sense of contentment, like this was where he was _supposed _to be, and then a female voice, soothing and cool to him as water; though it seemed to come from far away.

"I love you."

His eyes flew open, and he found himself back on the ground of the Training Center, Selphie, Quistis, and Zell crowded around him. "Squall! Oh, my Hyne, are you all right?" Selphie's voice was _so shrill_. Had it always been that damn irritating?

"I'm fine," he growled, pushing her away from him in frustration.

"What happened?" Zell asked carefully. "You almost looked like you were in the Dream World again."

Squall rolled his eyes. "Well, I wasn't. Ellone promised not to do that any more, didn't she?" he sneered coldly. After they had beaten Ultimecia, and Ellone had been reunited with Laguna, she had promised that she would no longer send any of their minds into the past without their express permission first.

"I didn't mean that you _were_ in the Dream World, man," Zell said, holding up his hands in surrender. "Just sayin', you looked the same. Geez."

Squall put his hand on his forehead again and sighed. "Sorry. Whatever. I'm tired." He stood up and walked away from them without so much as a glance over his shoulder.

xXx

"Damn. He pushed me out too soon." Ellone sighed in frustration. "Same thing happened with Seifer."

"It's all right," Edea said soothingly, putting her arm around Ellone's shoulders. "You were able to make contact, that's a big step."

"I feel like I'm violating him," the younger woman said sadly. "I don't want to be the one who gives him these nightmares."

Edea shook her head and forced the girl she loved like a daughter to look at her. "Ellone. You have to do this." She gestured around them. "Just look."

They were back in the dungeon where this whole nightmare had started. The twenty girls that had been there before were still there. But to Edea and Ellone's horror -- they were decomposing. Corpses. They'd been dead this whole time.

Ellone sighed as she involuntarily remembered the events of the past week.

_Cyrus had told them he was letting them go … he had taken them away from Rinoa, left alone at his mercy. But instead of releasing them, he had locked them back into this filthy, putrid room. And told them that they were no longer needed, Rinoa would take care of everything on her own._

_Edea had convinced Ellone to use her power to find out anything that she could -- who was looking for them, how long they'd been looking -- anything at all to help Rinoa. Ellone had taken Edea to the nearest past, with Cid, and what they discovered had horrified them._

_Cyrus had managed to convince Cid that Rinoa was the new sorceress, and that she had killed both Edea and Ellone. And while that was horrifying, it wasn't the worst part. Somehow, someway, Cyrus had managed to completely eradicate Rinoa from the minds of everyone who had ever known her. All she was to them now, was a murderous sorceress, with naught but world domination on her mind._

_Ellone had sobbed uncontrollably after seeing this. "He is going to release her into a world that …" She looked at Edea, feeling more helpless than she had ever felt in her life. "She should never have even been a part of this, Matron."_

"_Squall," Edea said suddenly, and Ellone looked up, for a split second, hoping, hoping. But no. Edea had just said his name._

"_What about him, Matron?"_

"_He's her knight. He must be with her … or she'll …" Edea didn't need to finish that sentence, Ellone knew._

"_This is what Cyrus wanted all along," Ellone concluded. "But why bring us into it?"_

"_That part's easy, Elle." She gestured at the bodies strewn about the room around them. "He'd been searching for his perfect vessel. Look at all these girls. None of them strong enough to withstand whatever tortures he made us endure before we woke up here. Only the true descendants of Hyne could survive, and that was us. But he only needed one, and he found the one he wanted. The one who could potentially wreak the most havoc on this world."_

"_But why Rinoa?" Ellone asked._

_Edea took a deep breath, hoping she'd be able to explain what she wanted to say. "It's very confusing, because Ultimecia technically existed in the future. But we do know some things about her, thanks to Dr. Odine's machine, and I guess, thanks to you, since your brain was the inspiration for it. _

"_Ultimecia had a knight. One that she loved very much. He loved her too, for awhile. And they were blissful, happy. Their bond was powerful. Supposedly the most powerful the world had ever known. And when you break a bond like that … Anyway, one day, he decided he wasn't happy any more, and he left. She never saw him again. Her grief turned to anger, her anger turned to hatred, and her hatred made her … well, you know the story." She sighed. "Cyrus picked Rinoa because her bond with Squall is the strongest bond that has ever existed between Sorceress and Knight in the history of the world."_

"_Stronger than Ultimecia's?" Ellone queried._

"_Infinitely stronger."_

"_So if he were to … betray her …" Ellone began hesitantly._

"_I don't need to fill in the blanks. You saw what Ultimecia did … imagine that horror and anguish released on the world again, but this time, tenfold."_

_Ellone sucked in a deep breath. "So Squall. We have to … what, exactly?"_

"_Make him remember his past, the past with Rinoa," Edea said. "But subtly. He doesn't remember her existence right now, and if you push too hard …"_

_Ellone smiled sadly. "He'll retreat even farther. Yes, I remember Squall well, Matron."_

Ellone came back to the present, tired of reliving the past week. Tired of reliving the past, period. "I hope …"

Edea looked at Ellone, dark honey-colored eyes questioning and concerned. "Yes?"

Ellone shook her head, laughed emptily. "That's it. I hope."

Edea took Ellone's hand and squeezed. "Me too, child. Me too," she whispered.

xXx

Rinoa sat out on the deck of the _S.S. Griffon_, the small ship that was carrying she and Irvine from Trabia to Balamb. It was a journey that would take four days, and they were already three days in. Rinoa just couldn't wait to be back there, back in Squall's arms.

She had been confused by the destination, and she asked him about it today. "I thought Garden was at FH? Why are we going to Balamb? Do we have to change boats there or something?"

Irvine shook his head. "I spoke to the headmistress of Trabia before we left, and she told me Cid had ordered Garden to return to Balamb. So that's where we're going." He tried to hide his uneasiness about the whole situation from her. He _had _spoken to Justina, and she had given him some very official-looking paperwork, explaining that he and Rinoa were visiting from Galbadia and Trabia, respectively, because they were thinking of transferring to take the SeeD exam, and that they should be allowed guest accomodations and any other amenities normally provided to prospective Balamb Garden students. So that took care of getting them inside, at least. But the rest ...

He really wasn't sure if he should tell Rinoa what was going on, or wait. Maybe there was nothing to tell. Maybe once Squall saw her again, his strange bout of amnesia would be gone. At the very least, he wouldn't turn her away. At least, Irvine _hoped _he wouldn't. For both the sake of Rinoa, his friend, _and_ Rinoa, the Sorceress.

And if he was being completely honest, the idea of Rinoa the Sorceress is what held him back more than anything …

He sat with her in companionable silence on the deck, staring out over the sea. The air was warmer here, now that they were farther from Trabia. "You know … the man I told you about?" Rinoa said carefully, breaking the quietude with her hesitant question.

"The bastard that kidnapped you, yeah," Irvine said, his violet-blue eyes growing dark. If only he had any idea how to get hold of that monster, well, that man would be full of holes right now, that was for damn sure.

"It's crazy, really, but he told me that nobody would remember me," she said, still not looking at him. "But that's stupid, right? I mean, _you_ remember me. And if _you _remember me, then _Squall_ …" She quickly wiped away the tears that had formed in the corner of her eyes, feeling stupid. "I'm being stupid. Of course he remembers me …"

Irvine felt his chest tighten at her words. That man, that _Cyrus Blakeslee_, he had _done _something to them. Something to everyone at Garden! But how had _he _managed to escape with his memories still intact? There was something gnawing at the back of his mind, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He hoped it would come to him, sooner rather than later.

Until then though … he knew now that he couldn't keep lying to her. He was the only ally she had right now. Well, he and Justina Warner, but Rinoa didn't know her. Couldn't be expected to trust her.

"Rin," he said carefully. "The thing is … I was in Trabia, to see Cid, because, well, like some really strange shit has gone down back at Garden. But unfortunately, he couldn't help me."

"I don't understand. What … what happened?" Rinoa said, unconsciously gripping the railing on the edge of the ship tightly.

"I … I left Squall's party with a girl," he said sheepishly, not meeting the brunette's eyes.

"A girl who wasn't Selphie, I take it?" Rinoa said evenly, though her voice held no accusation. She was too afraid of where this was going.

"Right," he mumbled. "Anyway, I tried to get back into Garden the next morning, and my access kept gettin' like, denied. Weird, right? Anyway, Sefie and Quisty showed up … and they didn't know who _I _was." He sighed. "At first, I thought it was some kinda sick joke, to get back at me for …"

"Banging the redhead?" Rinoa supplied, her eyes twinkling slightly as she thought back to the conversation she and her friends had had that night.

"Right," he said again, his face reddening slightly. "But then … Rin, I asked where you were. And they …"

She froze. "They … didn't know?" she whispered.

He shook his head sadly. "Not just that they didn't know where you _were_, Rin. They acted like they'd never even heard your name before."

Rinoa sank down to the floor. "It's true. It's all true, then. And … Squall?"

Irvine just shook his head, and hated hated _hated_ himself for the look of anguish that came over the girl's face. "Rin, I'm sorry. But we're gonna fix it, whatever we have to do. I swear to Hyne, Rinoa." He sat down next to her, putting his arm around her trembling shoulders and pulling her close to his side. "Are you … okay?"

Rinoa shook her head. "No," she said honestly. "He's my _knight_, gods damn it! He's not supposed to forget me!"

She slammed her hand down on the wooden floor of the deck angrily. There was a loud _popping _noise followed by a bright flash of light, and a tremor passed through floor beneath them. She jumped to her feet, terrified. "_Shit_," she hissed, rubbing her hands on the front of her jeans, trying to rid herself of the itchy, pins-and-needles sensation that Ultimecia had always sent coursing through her.

"Rin …" Irvine said cautiously, standing up and taking her shaking hands in his own. "Calm down, okay? This isn't … it's not _final_. You guys are like, bonded, right? We can work with this, okay? Just … come on, stay with me."

Rinoa took a deep breath, tried to stay focused on the man in front of her, kept her brown eyes locked on his indigo ones. "You're right, you're right," she said, nodding. "He _knows _me, even if he doesn't know me. I just have to … _make _him remember, somehow. You'll help me, right?" Tears flowing again, she clung to his long leather duster as if he were her last lifeline in the world. "You won't leave, right?"

"No, Rin, I won't leave you," Irvine said, rubbing small circles on the frightened young woman's back. "It'll be all right, darlin'."

Rinoa looked up at him and smiled a little. His voice had always taken on that slow, lilting drawl whenever he was working his charm on some unsuspecting girl. This time, however, Rinoa knew it was merely meant to be comforting, and it was.

He continued to talk, soothing her with his words. "He fell in love with you once, and there's no damned reason why he won't again. If there's one thing that's been a constant, it is that Squall loves Rinoa. Don't see how that's ever gonna change."

Rinoa convinced herself that he was right, and finally pulled away from him and turned to look back at the water. She'd been so happy just minutes earlier, and now, all she could feel was nervousness … and dread.

Reaching up to where she used to wear her necklaces, she repeated a phrase in her mind, over and over and over again:

_You're going to like me, you're going to like me, you're going to like me …_

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

**A/N: **Whew. This chapter took a LOT outta me! ;) Well, okay, so a bunch of stuff has been explained ... but there's stilllll a lot left unanswered. All in good time, grasshoppers. 

And, if you couldn't tell, Irvine is my _doll _in this fic. Don't worry, though. I'm not going _there_. ;p I just really wanted Rinoa to have a friend, and he seemed like a good candidate. :)

I'm excited for the next couple of chapters, and I hope you guys are too. Thanks soooo much to everyone who has read and reviewed and all that jazz. It makes me happy to know that people are enjoying reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing it.


	5. Starting Over

_**Chapter Five**  
**Starting Over**_

By the time Rinoa and Irvine made it to Balamb Garden the following day, it was late afternoon, and Rinoa was beyond exhausted. Thankfully, Justina Warner had already gotten in contact with Xu, and the paperwork was already done for the "guests". Luckily, it was commonplace for potential students to come and stay at Garden, so nobody made a big deal about it.

"Welcome to Balamb Garden!" Xu said warmly, greeting them at the front gate. "We're always so glad to entertain prospective SeeDs! Would you care for a tour this afternoon?"

Looking around the all-too-familiar building, Rinoa felt a lump starting to form in her throat. So, Xu didn't recognize them. Hyne, Irvine was right. They _didn't_ remember her. She shook her head firmly, remembering her _first_ tour of the Garden, with Squall. No, she didn't want another one. Not with Xu.

"I'm sorry. I'm exhausted from the trip," she said, hoping she sounded apologetic enough.

Xu nodded sympathetically. "Of course! I'm sorry, I wasn't even thinking! A trip from Trabia, I'm sure you _are _just beat!"

Rinoa wished she'd stop talking. She just wanted to go into whatever dorm they decided to put her in, and shut the rest of the Garden out. Maybe she'd just stay there until Cyrus decided to come back for her. She was having severe second thoughts. Maybe coming back here had been a mistake … how was she supposed to _do _this?

"I'll find someone to escort you to your rooms. I'd do it myself, but with the Headmaster gone, I really should be getting back to the office," Xu said as they entered Garden.

Rinoa gasped involuntarily at the familiar surroundings, and tears filled her eyes for what seemed like the millionth time that week. As Xu walked away, Rinoa grabbed the sleeve of Irvine's duster. "Hyne, Irvine, I … I don't think …"

"It's okay," he said calmly. "Rin, it's gonna all right."

"_How?_" Rinoa growled, a fierce sound that Irvine had not heard from her before.

They were interrupted, however, by Zell. Rinoa felt her heart leap when she saw the blond martial artist, and she wanted so badly to fling herself at him and hold him so tight. She'd _missed_ everyone so much. But his next words halted her jubilation. "Hi, I'm Zell Dincht," he said, holding out his hand for Irvine to shake, then Rinoa. Rinoa bit her bottom lip as she shook his hand.

Just a few weeks ago, they had been friends. _Best _friends. Now, he didn't so much as give her a second glance. "Anyway, I'm supposed to show Irvine to his dorm. Uh, Rinoa?" he paused for a second, as though he were contemplating something, but then thought better of it. He shook his head. "Anyway … uh, they couldn't find any of your records, from Trabia?"

Rinoa's eyes widened. Irvine had told her what to say should this situation come up, but she hadn't honestly believed that no one would remember her. "Uh, well, they were destroyed. By the missiles? And there were more important things to deal with first," she said quickly, not meeting Zell's eyes.

He nodded his head, his hazel eyes sympathetic. "Oh, yeah, we figured it was something like that. But, uh, the Commander still needs to see you before you get settled in."

Rinoa nearly choked. "C-Commander?" Her eyes flashed to Irvine, and he nodded at her encouragingly. He was right, of course. The sooner she saw him, the sooner she could …

Well, _what_, exactly?

"It's standard. Anyone without proper records has to meet with him. I think it's stupid, personally," Zell said conspiratorially, causing Rinoa to smile for the first time since she'd been back. "Uh, well, if you just wait right here, he should be down any minute."

Rinoa nodded. "Okay," she said, hoping she sounded calmer than she felt. Irvine was going to leave in a minute, and she would truly be on her own.

Luck was on her side, though, because at that moment, Zell's girlfriend (well, was she his girlfriend any more?), walked by. "Hi, Zell," she said. Zell turned to talk to her, and Irvine seized the opportunity to speak to Rinoa without being overheard.

"Okay, Rin, this is a good thing, right?"

Rinoa thought she might be sick. "I dunno. I don't know if I can … How am I supposed to act like we've never met? I mean, that's the plan isn't it? So that we don't freak anybody out … act normal. It's one thing with Zell … it's something _very _different with Squall."

"I know. I know it's hard, darlin'," Irvine said in a low voice. "But we don't have a lot of other choices. If you go in, ranting and raving about everything, they'll think you're crazy. And crazy people don't get to become SeeDs." He cocked a grin at her, and she smiled half-heartedly back, though she begged to differ with his statement. It seemed to her that most people who were SeeDs were completely out of their minds.

"We can't have that," he continued. "You gotta gain his trust again. Just be yourself. He fell for you before. It'll happen again." He gave her shoulders a squeeze and turned back around to follow Zell down the hallway.

She watched him walk away, all of a sudden intensely aware of the fact that she was here, home. And yet, she was still a million miles away.

She heard two female voices coming up the corridor behind her, and she turned around, her eyes lighting up. Selphie and Quistis were deep in conversation, laughing animatedly about something. Sadly, she remembered times when she had been part of their group, right there, giggling and talking with them.

Selphie spotted her and smiled warmly, and for a second, Rinoa thought maybe it had just been Zell. The irrational part of her brain wondered if maybe he hadn't eaten some bad hot dogs, and the side effect was memory loss.

But then Selphie said, "Hi! I'm Selphie … are you one of the prospective students?"

"Uh, yeah," Rinoa said, feeling deflated. She picked her bag up off the ground and shouldered it. "Hi. I'm Rinoa."

She saw Quistis' brow furrow slightly. "Rinoa?" she repeated.

Rinoa's hopes soared again. "Yes?"

Quistis shook her head. "Nothing. I just … I think I've heard of you. Or someone with your name." She smiled, held out her hand. "Quistis Trepe. I'm an instructor here. Nice to meet you."

"Um, do you know where you're staying?" Selphie asked kindly, looking around. It was weird that they'd just leave a prospective student alone like this.

"I'm supposed to meet with Sq -- the Commander. Something about my records. I mean, because I don't have any … the missiles kind of …"

Selphie nodded earnestly. "Oh, say no more. You're from Trabia, huh? I used to go there. How's everything going up there?"

"It's slow, but everything is getting back to normal," Rinoa said, hoping that Selphie wouldn't ask too many questions. She wasn't sure she could remember everything that Irvine had told her about Trabia. Selphie _had_ lived there, she didn't want to say something erroneous.

"I'm sorry that our Commander is keeping you waiting so long," Quistis broke in. "I'd like to say that he's been out-of-sorts lately, but that's not true. He's never really been in-sorts, if you follow."

Rinoa managed a genuine grin at that. _That _much was certainly true. "What? Is he a big pain in the ass?"

Selphie laughed appreciatively. "The biggest. How'd you know?"

"Oh! Uh, lucky guess?" Rinoa said uncertainly. "Um, we've heard, in Trabia, that the Balamb Commander is not really a very friendly guy."

"That's the understatement of the millennium," Quistis quipped. "Oh, and speak of the devil."

Rinoa turned around and saw him coming down the stairs that led to the elevator, and she froze. He was wearing his SeeD uniform, just like the first time she'd ever seen him, and he had a manila folder in his hands. He was rifling through it's contents, not looking at the people all around him.

Gods, she wanted to run to him, bury her face in the crook of his neck, and just _breathe him_. She wanted so badly to run her fingers through that tousled brown hair, to stare into those beautiful steel-blue eyes. She felt her knees start to shake and there was a moment where she honestly thought she might scream out his name. It was by sheer will alone that she didn't.She bit her lip and willed herself not to cry. _How _was she supposed to do this? _How _could he be just a heartbeat away from her -- and _completely _out of reach?

He was only steps away from her now, and finally he looked up. "Rinoa Heartilly?" he said, his eyes cool and unemotional as he assessed the girl in front of him.

Nothing. Not a flicker of recognition, or a glimmer of remembrance. Just cold, impossibly beautiful gray-blue eyes. Eyes that showed boredom, disinterest.

Suddenly, she was no longer able to stop herself. "Squall?" she said, as if saying his name would make him remember.

"It's Commander Leonhart, actua --"

"Damn it. _Damn you_," she whispered, more to herself than to him.

"Excuse me?" he said brusquely.

She shook her head, the pain in her heart so severe that she nearly yelped from it. "Nothing," she said wearily. She had to get away. If she stayed here, this close to him (_Hyne, she could smell him … that leather and field-after-the-rain combination that could be no one but him)_, for much longer, she was going to break down. "You know what? I can't -- I can't do this right now, I'm sorry. I'm really tired from my trip. Can you just tell me where my room is?"

He exhaled loudly in annoyance. Just fucking great. As if he didn't have enough gods-damned problems to deal with. "Whatever," he muttered. "Quistis, Selphie, show her to her room. I've got _work_ to do. As for you," he said to Rinoa. "Meet me in the library tomorrow at noon." He didn't wait for a response.

"My name is _Rinoa_," she hissed angrily at his retreating form. She turned to the two women who had watched her entire, stunning performance in silence, and she suddenly felt like the world's biggest idiot. "Oh, Hyne. I'm really not crazy. I know that's what all crazy people say …"

"It's okay," Quistis said gently. "You're very tired from your trip. And Squall tends to have that effect on women." She tried to make it a joke, but Rinoa didn't smile.

"Come on, Rinoa, your room's this way. I think they put you in the empty dorm next to mine," Selphie said, trying desperately to break the tension that was crackling in the air.

"Was it me?" Rinoa finally asked. "Did I do something wrong back there?"

Quistis shook her head. "No, you were fine. Unfortunately, that is Squall's normal attitude. Can you imagine the fun we have?"

"That's too bad …" Rinoa said quietly, as Irvine's words from earlier started to come back to her. _You've gotta be yourself, Rin. Squall fell for you once, he'll do it again … _"Be myself," she muttered. Starting now. She was starting _right now_. "Really too bad," she continued. "He's kind of cute." She grinned, and almost immediately, she amazingly felt a little bit better. On _this _at least, she didn't have to lie.

"You think Squall's cute?" Selphie said, raising her eyebrow at Quistis behind Rinoa's back.

"Well, yeah," Rinoa said, with a small shrug. "Don't you guys?" She hid her smile as she looked almost pointedly at Quistis.

"Sure, I guess," Selphie said. "He has nice eyes," she finally conceded.

"I noticed," Rinoa said.

"Oh, here's your room," Selphie said, stopping in front of a door, and handing Rinoa a keycard. "My room's right next door, so if you need _anything_, just knock okay? Even if it's four in the morning."

"Thanks, Selphie," Rinoa said, and she meant it. It hurt, though, to think of all the fun memories she had with these girls, knowing that they didn't remember them at all. She inserted the keycard and waited for the door to _swish _open. "I'll see you later." She tossed her bag into the corner of the room, and made sure her door was locked.

She went into her adjoining bathroom and peeled off her traveling clothes. She started a hot shower, and it was only after she was under the nearly-scalding spray that she allowed herself to cry. She sobbed until there were no more tears left in her eyes, beating her fists against the walls of the shower, cursing the gods and the fates and the heavens until she didn't have the strength to stand up any more. She sank down to the floor and drew her knees up to her chin. The water grew cold and she didn't care. What did it matter?

Suddenly she felt an overwhelming urge to just _hit _something. Recognizing the itchy feeling in her hands, she quickly turned off the water and hopped out of the shower. She dried quickly and dressed in an old pair of sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt. She tied her wet hair up into a ponytail, and grabbed her blaster edge from it's case. She hurried down the hallway to the training center, hoping that there weren't too many people there right now.

It was six o'clock -- dinner time. Hopefully she'd be alone.

xXx

He'd been on his way to the cafeteria when he saw her leave the dorms and head down the hallway toward the training facility._ Too tired, huh? _he thought to himself irritably. _Whatever_. He started to head back for the cafeteria again, and then growled, balling his fists. "Dammit." He cursed himself the whole way down the hallway, asking himself why the hell he even cared.

Stopping by his room for Lion Heart first, he followed her to the training center, preparing to lecture her on the rules of the facility -- Number One being that you never ever went in there alone. What he saw when he got there made him pause though.

She moved like a dancer -- graceful and quick, dodging the monsters' attacks with ease. He never would have admitted it out loud, but she had a killer body. He allowed his eyes to linger just a little longer than was probably necessary _(or appropriate)_ on her backside as she evaded another attack.

He saw that she had a blaster edge strapped to her arm, but she was in the process of casting a spell. She finished the incantation and the Firaga spell that ensued was extremely impressive. She smiled triumphantly as the Grat went up in flames, and then whirled to face the Bite Bug that had ambushed her from behind.

"Bite Bugs don't like ice," he heard her whisper, and he almost found himself grinning. She talked to herself in battle … so did he. She began chanting another spell and the Blizzaga that she produced was ground-shaking. "Oops," she muttered. "Overkill, probably. Damn, I feel rusty. Next time, just Blizzara."

"Actually, you don't need anything stronger than Blizzard for the Bite Bugs in here," he said, and she jumped about a mile in the air.

She whirled around quickly to see who her intruder was, and felt her heart start to race. "Oh, my Hyne, Sq -- _Commander_," she amended. "You scared me to death!" she gasped, putting her hand over her chest. She smiled a little, unable to help herself. He was still _Squall_, dammit. Still her Knight, whether he knew it or not. "What are you doing here?"

Her smile made his throat go dry. _What the hell is your problem, man? This girl's just another prospective student -- another pain in the ass that YOU have to deal with while Cid's off doing … whatever the hell Cid does._ He cleared his throat. "Well, actually, no one's allowed in here by themselves," he said, all business once again. "I have to enforce the rules, so you're going to have to leave and come back later with a partner."

Rinoa looked around, considering for a moment. "What about you, _Commander_?" she said, cocking her head to the side. "Unless you have a more pressing engagement, of course."

He didn't say anything, and Rinoa was suddenly reminded of a dance, nearly a year ago, where she'd had to drag an unwilling partner onto the floor. The start. Her eyes twinkling, she walked over to him. "C'mon, let's you and me dance with these monsters." She reached for his wrist, and he jerked back at the touch almost immediately.

_You're the best-looking guy here … Dance with me?_

The image flashed into his mind so swiftly and suddenly that he actually stumbled. A party … a girl in a white dress, smiling at him, holding out her hand. The familiar pain in his head, and suddenly he was _back there_, at that dance. The faceless girl in white was there, the same girl that had been haunting his dreams for over a week now. Who was she? A dream? Or something else entirely?

Now they were on the dance floor, and he was tripping and stepping on her toes, and she was laughing -- it sounded like the tinkling of silver bells in his ears. He tried to leave, but she pulled him back. He turned around and her face started to become clearer …

"Squall! Squall!" Another voice … a different girl. Calling him back to the present, away from the dance floor. Back in the training facility.

"Quistis?" he mumbled, as the blonde's face came into view.

"You've got to stop making a habit of this," the instructor said grimly. "That's the fifth time this week."

"Where'd she go?" he asked as he sat up, looking around for the girl … Rinoa.

"Rinoa? She came to get me, she said you'd collapsed in here. She didn't follow me back here though, she was very upset," Quistis explained. "What happened?"

He shook his head irritably. "It doesn't matter. That girl came in here alone, like an _idiot_, and I followed her to inform her of the rules of our Garden."

"And you collapsed? For no reason at all?" Quistis said carefully.

Squall stood up, tired of all the questions. How was he supposed to explain to everyone that he was dreaming about a girl he'd never met, and that she was even interrupting his normal, day-to-day activities. He couldn't, because he didn't _know_. "I'm tired. I'll see you tomorrow."

"You should stop by and let Rinoa know you're okay," Quistis called after him. "She was really worried."

"Whatever," he muttered. "You tell her!" he called back to Quistis as he exited the room. "I'm going to bed."

xXx

"He always cuts me off right before …" Ellone said in frustration.

"It's because he _knows _the truth will change everything. And he's not sure he's ready for it," Edea said. "I know my children."

"But Rinoa doesn't have a lot of time … it's not like before. She's got under two months before Cyrus takes her back and finishes what he started.. It took Squall that long to even _talk to her civilly_ the first time, Matron," Ellone remarked.

"But the hard part's already done, Elle," Edea replied calmly. "He already loves her. The bond has already been formed. He just doesn't know it right now. We'll try again tomorrow."

xXx

_What the hell are you even doing here, Leonhart?_ Squall cursed himself for his idiocy as he stood outside Rinoa's door a few minutes later. Sighing, he knocked.

A few moments later, she opened the door, and the surprise on her face was genuine. "Sq -- Commander! You're okay. Thank Hyne, you really scared me back there."

"Yeah, well, Quistis told me I should let you know. She said you were worried," he said stupidly. "Whatever."

She covered her mouth with her hand and laughed a little. So typically Squall. "Well, thank you for letting me know," she said after an awkward pause. "Or, whatever." She grinned at him slyly.

_Damn! _he thought suddenly. _Damn, she's pretty… _

"Anyway, don't forget to meet me in the library tomorrow at noon. We have to go over your, uh, lack of paperwork."

"Okay," she said quietly. "I'll see you tomorrow, Commander."

"Heartilly."

She shut the door and he walked away. Sighing, she leaned against the door as a single tear escaped the corner of her eye. Just when she thought she was all cried out … he went and did something so … so …

Squall.

Damn it! This was _too hard_. It wasn't fair. She knew everything that they were, everything that they were _supposed _to be … and he didn't remember any of it. She only hoped she'd be strong enough to get him back.

"_Remember me_," she whispered as she turned out the lamp beside her bed and crawled under the blankets.

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**A/N: **This is the chapter that did not want to end! lol I could NOT get to a good stopping point here. Anyway ... well, here it is. They're reunited. Sort of. Except it is most definitely not going to be that easy ... duh!

I just wanted to establish the fact that this isn't like the first time they fell for each other ... this time around, their bond has already been forged. Their fate has already been sealed, so to speak. So that's why it seems like it's all right there, right now. But Squall's got a lot of stuff that he needs to deal with, and none of this is going to be easy on Rinny. :( I can only imagine what it must feel like to love someone who doesn't even remember that you exist. So there's a lot more angsting before we get to the juicy bits. (Sorry! ;p)

Thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed so far. Hope you guys like this chapter!


	6. Hopeful

_**Chapter Six**  
**Hopeful**_

She considered her options carefully when deciding what to wear the next morning. Jeans were a good fallback, but she was _trying _to make her freaking boyfriend fall for her again … so no. Something more … _dramatic_ was called for.

She pulled everything out of her bag (and tried desperately not to dwell on the fact that the only reason this bag was here was because Cyrus had somehow gotten into her room and gone through all of her belongings …) and spread it out around her room, eyeing everything critically, before her gaze drifted to her favorite mini-skirt, a denim one in jet black. Her eyes darted around the room quickly and found the pale blue v-neck top that she normally wore with it.

Spirits raised, she pulled on the outfit, along with her knee-high boots, and grinned to herself. Maybe the outfit _was _a little risqué -- _(okay, okay, slutty) _-- but the first time Squall had seen her in this outfit, he'd gone nearly catatonic. Her smile widened as she remembered the glassy look he'd gotten in his eyes, the way he'd barely been able to form coherent sentences.

It might not be the most ethical decision that Rinoa Heartilly had ever made. But times were desperate. _She _was desperate. It had only been one day, but being near him again, and not being able to be _near him_ had been hard. Too hard. She didn't want to be here, alone like this.

Especially not … well, knowing that Edea and Ellone were dead didn't help anything. And the fact that she was the prime suspect, was even worse. She wondered how long it would be before that news reached Garden? Sighing, she shook her head and stood up. She only hoped that by that time, she wouldn't be alone any more.

It was a little after ten when she entered the cafeteria, and found it mostly deserted. Garden students were early risers, most of them had probably come and gone by now, depending on what time their classes were. She bypassed the long line and went for the smaller pastry cart. She grabbed a strawberry and cream cheese Danish and a cup of coffee, and turned to find a place to sit. She saw him, sitting alone at a corner table, with nothing but a cup of coffee in front of him.

She shook her head in annoyance. He _never_ ate breakfast, even though she was _always _telling him how good it was for him. He always just said "Whatever" … and then stole bites of her chocolate éclairs when he thought she wasn't looking. He had a weakness for chocolate, though he always tried to hide it from everyone. "No weaknesses" seemed to be Squall Leonhart's professional motto.

Smiling a little, she turned back to the pastry cart, grabbed an éclair, and headed over to his table. "Good morning!" she said brightly. "May I join you?"

"No."

He didn't glanced up from the paperwork he was perusing, merely grunted his disapproval at being interrupted. He sensed that the intruder hadn't budged. "Did you need something?" he mumbled almost intelligibly.

"No, not at all," Rinoa said, undeterred by his attitude. "I just noticed that you were sitting alone, and I didn't think you'd mind the company. Seeing as you owe me, after all, for almost giving me a heart attack last night."

He finally looked up at that. His eyebrows arched as he took in the sight before him. She'd been wearing sweats the previous evening, so he hadn't noticed just how long and shapely her legs were … but it was hard to miss them now. He was pretty sure that the length of her skirt was _not _regulation … but he didn't exactly feel any inclination to reprimand her for it. Not _right now_, at least.

She bit her lip … _there _was the glassy-eyed look she'd been hoping for. _Good_, she thought to herself. _All is not lost. _"Ahem," she finally said, and his eyes snapped up to her face. She was grinning, her eyes twinkling. "So … can I join you? Or are you going to pretend to ignore me some more?"

He finally nodded. "Go ahead," he said, feeling slightly lightheaded.

She sat down across from him, doing that thing that girls did before they sat down when wearing a skirt, reaching around to make sure the skirt stayed position underneath them. He didn't understand _why_ he kept staring at her. It wasn't as though he'd never seen a pretty girl before.

But something seemed _different_ about _this_ particular pretty girl. There was something achingly familiar about the way she smiled at him, the dark sheen of her almost-ebony hair.

She grinned at him questioningly, and he realized he'd been staring. Again. Damn it, this was becoming a habit. One that he didn't need. But part of him thought that if he looked at her long enough, he might figure out _why _she seemed less like a new student, and more like an old friend.

"Do you like chocolate, Commander?" she asked him suddenly.

"What?" he asked, blinking in surprise at the question.

"Well, this looked _so _good when I picked it up a minute ago," she said, holding out a delicious-looking chocolate éclair to him. "But I guess my eyes were bigger than my stomach, because I am full. So do you want it?" She waved it in front of his face, leaning over the table as she did so.

As good as the pastry looked to him, it paled in comparison to the view he now had down the dark-haired girl's top. "Squall?" she said after a minute.

Rinoa's brow furrowed. What the hell was his … What _was_ he looking at?

And then she figured it out. Biting her lip, she sat the pastry down in front of him and stood up, satisfied that she had done her job for the morning. "I'll see you at noon, Commander. In the library, right? Enjoy that éclair!" She waved at him over her shoulder, not looking back, but having the distinct privilege of knowing that he was most _definitely _watching her walk away.

She ran into Irvine on her way out of the cafeteria, a grin still plastered on her face. "Rinoa? What the hell _aren't _you wearing?" he said teasingly.

"This happens to be Squall's favorite outfit," Rinoa said primly.

"Hmm, I think it looks better on you than it would _ever _look on him …"

Rinoa giggled. "I'm pretty sure that's not what I meant."

"Well, it seems that you are correct because he keeps, like, looking up from his paperwork to watch you." Irvine stopped, and looked at her critically. "Fun and games aside. How are you doing? I know it's only been a day, but …"

"It's been the longest day of my life. _Including _the day I got locked in the Sorceress Memorial." She sighed. "What happens if he _does_ fall for me again?" she asked after a long pause. "I mean, that's great, right? But how am I going to convince him that I'm not an evil sorceress who killed his Sis and Matron when the truth comes out? Because it _will _come out, eventually."

"Rin, that'll be up to him," Irvine said. "It'll be up to him to decide when that time comes. Maybe by then, whatever happened to everybody will be, like reversed or something. Selphie's already warming up to me again." He grinned a little.

"Let's hope so. But at some point, one way or another, he's going to find out. And he'll have to make that decision again … the one about being a Knight. What if he's changed his mind?" Rinoa said, suddenly feeling much less confident than she had been feeling just minutes earlier.

"Look, Rin. We can't predict the future. We just gotta take it day by day, minute by minute, right?"

Rinoa nodded sadly. "Right. But, I mean, maybe I should just … go. Hope he remembers me on his own. That would be so much easier than _this_." She sighed. "I love him more than I've ever loved anything in this world. And he doesn't even remember me." She fisted her left hand and pounded it against her chest gently, almost as though she were willing her heart to start beating again. "It just freaking _hurts_. Every time I see him, I just want to walk up behind him and wrap my arms around his neck, and kiss his cheek, like I used to do. But I know that if I _do_ …"

"I hear ya," Irvine said. "I mean, I know it's not nearly the same thing, but when I saw Selphie yesterday … yeah. It hurts." He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "But leaving isn't going to make it hurt any less, is it?"

Rinoa shook her head. "No, you're right. At least while I'm _here_, he has to see me. And I'm going to make myself a very visible part of his life from here on out. Eventually, something's going to jog his memory."

"Well, you might not be jogging his mind right now," Irvine said with a smirk, glancing back toward the commander, "but you're definitely giving _something _a workout."

Rinoa laughed, finally, and, shaking her head, exited the cafeteria. She took comfort in the fact that, if nothing else, at least she knew Squall Leonhart wouldn't be pushing her from his mind any time soon.

xXx

She was already in the library when he arrived shortly before noon later that day. She had _(mercifully)_ changed into a pair of jeans, though she was still _(thank Hyne)_ wearing the powder-blue v-neck from breakfast, and her hair was pulled back from her face in a low ponytail. She was deeply engrossed in a book.

He cleared his throat as he approached and she jumped slightly, setting the book aside. "Interesting?" He inclined his head at the tome. He read the title. "_The Complete History of the Sorceress_?" He frowned. "That's a pretty heavy subject matter, don't you think?"

She shook her head. "Not really. It's interesting, to me." She had hoped that the book would cause him to remember something, however fleeting the memory might have been. "Do you know about knights?"

Squall shrugged. "Sure. They're the men that have a bond with the Sorceress. They are pretty much the only thing that keep the Sorceress from becoming evil."

Rinoa nodded. "Pretty romantic, don't you think?" At his confused look, she grinned. "I mean, the bond would have to be pretty strong, right? And what's stronger than love? And the idea of it …"

"Yeah, well, we fought an evil sorceress, about seven months ago," Squall said, unsure of why he was telling her this.

"I know. Ultimecia," Rinoa said, leaning forward. "I was happy you won. We all were. Anyway. They say Ultimecia's knight left her and that's why she went crazy." She paused. "Must be pretty powerful, that love thing. Have you ever been in love, Commander?"

Before he knew what he was saying, the word flew out of his mouth. "Once."

Rinoa sat up straight. "Really?" she said, eyes wide.

He placed his hand on his forehead, and doubled over, much like he had done last night, before he'd blacked out. She jumped up and put her arms around him to steady him. To her surprise, he didn't push her away this time.

In fact, he leaned into her, ever-so-slightly, as the image of his darkened dorm room, and that same girl, in a purple dress this time, came crashing into his mind. Frantic, heated kisses and clumsy, fumbling fingers; more nervous than he'd ever been in his entire life, as he whispered the words he so desperately wanted her to know.

_Hyne, I love you …_

Unaware of the memories he was reliving, she turned her head just an inch so that she could breathe in the scent of his uniform, mixed with the scent of him. This was the closest she had been to him since the night of his birthday party, and she wanted to hold on for dear life.

"No," he finally said, managing to break his ties to the images that had invaded his mind yet again. The pain in his head was finally subsiding, and he was able to stand on his own, but for some reason, he didn't move away from her. "I don't know why I said that. Laguna would say it was the faeries again. No, I've never been in love."

Rinoa nodded. _Faeries_ … That's what they'd called it when Ellone would take them to the past.

_Ellone!_ Was she … could she _possibly _be? Gods, was Ellone _alive_?

Standing in the library, her arms still around Squall, and that thought in her mind, Rinoa felt a hopefulness in her heart that she hadn't felt since this whole ordeal had begun.

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**A/N: **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I thought it was high time we had a little teensy bit of fluff. There's been a lot of angsting going on. Oh, yes, there was still plenty of that ... but as Squall/Rinoa fans, I definitely think there's enough here to make you guys happy. XD Because I'm just going to tear it all down in the next few chapters. :p Thanks again to all my reviewers! You guys are great!


	7. Spark of Potential

_**Chapter Seven**  
**Spark of Potential**_

It was quiet here tonight, Rinoa noted thankfully as she leaned against the railing of the training center's "secret area", admiring the lights of Garden. Usually, the place was full of couples who had snuck away for a few stolen moments. Even she and Squall had come here a few times. But at this late hour, it was deserted, and she was glad.

She didn't really even know why she was here. She'd been asleep and dreaming about lovely things -- whispers and promises and cherry blossoms and kisses and being wrapped in Squall's arms again -- when suddenly the visions had become dark and ominous.

She saw herself … unable to _see _herself. As though she was looking through someone else's eyes. But he -- and she just knew it was _him _-- he couldn't see her clearly. Her face was blurry, and fading in and out of focus and she was beckoning to him, and dancing, but he _couldn't see her face _and Rinoa felt his worry and his fear as the images came faster and faster, swirling and blurring in and out and turning into darker and bleaker things.

The Lunar Base. She saw herself floating in outer space helplessly, and felt his panic that he wouldn't reach her in time. Then she saw the space helmet shatter into a million pieces and felt him screaming in the distance.

She woke with a jolt, sitting straight up in bed, and gasped out his name. Was _that _what time compression had been like for him? Was that why she had found him, lying there, barely breathing?

She had to get out of this room. The walls felt like they were closing in on her. And she needed to see him, to reassure herself that he was still flesh and blood and breath. How many _other _nights had she woken up from some nightmare and gone to him? He had just held her in his arms, soothed her, told her it would all be all right. Hyne, she needed that right now.

Without even bothering to grab a robe, she had hurried out of her room and had her hand poised to knock on his door before she realized what it was she was doing.

"_Shit_," she hissed, stopping dead in her tracks. "What am I doing?" She couldn't be here now. Sighing sadly, she placed her palm against his door for a mere second, and then turned around. But instead of going back to her room, she found herself heading to the training center.

She was unarmed, but she knew it didn't matter. Her magic would more than suffice against the low-level monsters of the area.

Luckily, even the monsters must have been sleeping, because she made it to the secret area without any encounters. She should've just gone back to bed … she was supposed to start training tomorrow.

She tried not to roll her eyes at the ridiculousness of it all. She didn't _need_ to train. She wasn't _going_ to become a SeeD. But this was her home now, and if she wanted to stay, she had to keep up appearances.

She wanted to stay.

No matter how much it hurt her to be here, with memories around every corner, knowing that only she remembered them; it didn't matter. She still wanted to be here. But … what would happen when Cyrus came for her … if Squall still didn't remember? Would he at least _care _enough at that point to keep her safe?

And what about the deaths of Edea and Ellone? The ones that _she _was supposed to have committed? More lies fabricated by Cyrus of course … but if no one remembered her, why would they have any reason to trust that she had _not _killed anybody? The night they'd supposedly died … she'd been with Squall. For the first and -- at the rate things were going -- the _last _time.

xXx

He woke up in a cold sweat, like so many other nights. The recurring dream he had about time compression seemed to be getting worse. More insistent. Knowing that there was something he _should _have done … but failed. And he didn't know _what_ it was.

They'd completed their mission. Destroyed Ultimecia. And they'd all made it back in one piece from time compression. It was, by all rights, a success.

But it felt like something was missing. No … not _missing_.

_Forgotten_.

Feeling jittery and keyed-up, he got out of bed and pulled on a pair of pants and a plain white shirt. He was about to walk out of the door when the strangest feeling came over him. It felt like whatever he'd forgotten was right outside his door at that very moment.

He yanked open the door with a sudden force and was greeted by an empty, dark hallway. Shaking his head at the disappointment that he felt, he grabbed his gunblade and headed for the one place that always helped him clear his head after a bad night.

He made several laps through the training center before he gave up. The monsters obviously didn't feel like fighting tonight, damn it. He was about to call it good and go back to his room, try to salvage what he could of his sleep, when he glanced up toward the secret area. And felt compelled to go in, though he didn't know why. He'd never been particularly drawn to that area of Garden at any other time in his life. Which he guessed made him pretty abnormal compared to all other guys his age.

He walked inside, looked around, and found it empty, save for a dark-haired girl standing at the railing. His eyes narrowed. "Rinoa?" he said uncertainly.

She started a little, but then turned to face him. Blinking rapidly, she smiled faintly. "Hi."

"What are you doing here?" he said, trying to maintain eye contact with her. He'd already noticed the skimpy blue shorts and matching tank top that she was wearing. Her hair was slightly disheveled, and the image that was breaking into his consciousness was one that would have probably gotten him kneed in the balls, had she known what he was thinking.

None of the other girls that he'd found attractive in the past had ever made him feel like _this_. She seemed to emanate some special kind of homing-target hormone that shot _straight_ to his glands. And, if he was being totally honest, to his heart, as well. But _how _was that even possible? He'd only met her … Hyne, _two days ago_.

"Are you okay?" she asked, and he realized that, like a _jackass_, he'd been staring again.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"Apologizing for staring at a girl. Haven't ever heard that one before. Look, unless you were contemplating the best way to decapitate me with that pretty blue sword of yours, no apologies needed," Rinoa said lightly, smiling at him teasingly.

"It's rude," he continued. "I should just go …"

"Wait!" Rinoa said, not wanting him to leave. They were … getting closer. She could feel it … that spark of potential that always cracked in the air between them. "You don't have to go. Stay for awhile?"

He hesitated at the doorway, and then turned back to face her with a sigh.

"You know, I think we're probably here for the same reason," she told him when he'd joined her at the railing. "You couldn't sleep, right? Bad dream."

He just nodded. He wished for quite possibly the _first _time in his life, that he wasn't so bad with words. He wanted to explain to her about the nightmares, about the agony they'd caused him over the past months. But how did you explain something that you didn't even understand yourself.

"It's okay, you don't have elaborate," she told him gently. "I get that you're not a big talker, and that's fine. I probably talk enough for like, six people. Does it bother you?" She cocked her head to the side and studied him.

"It does, normally," he said after some thought, and Rinoa felt her heart sink. "But you don't."

Rinoa looked up at him, pleasantly surprised. She felt warmth all the way to her toes. "Was that a compliment, Commander?" she asked, elbowing him lightly in the ribs.

"Whatever," he said, shooting her a sidelong glance.

Her grin widened at the familiar twinkle in his eyes. "You know, Squall -- can I call you Squall here? No one else is around, and I won't tell anyone that you weren't being bossy," she whispered conspiratorially, leaning next to his ear.

"Whatever," he said again, his voice almost a croak. Lavender and vanilla. She smelled like lavender and vanilla …it was _familiar_.

"Goody!" She clapped her hands. "Okay. Squall. You do know that it's _okay _if you think I'm cute or whatever."

His head jerked up so quickly that she thought he'd give himself whiplash. "What?" he managed.

She rolled her eyes. "Or, okay, maybe you're just _lusting _over the hotness that is me," she said, crossing her eyes and sticking out her tongue, and he quirked his eyebrow, amused now. "But whatever. It's okay. You don't have to feel like you have to apologize to me all the time. I'm _not _going to sue you for sexual harassment or anything."

He kept his head down to avoid looking at her, but she bested him _there_ too. She leaned forward, hands on her knees, and managed to make eye contact with him. She smiled. "I'll tell you a secret," she told him, and he finally looked up.

"What's that?" he said despite himself. Damn it, she was _good_ at this.

"I think _you're _the best-looking guy that I've ever seen." He waited for her to laugh and say that she was only kidding, but her dark eyes were shining sincerely. "See? It's easy, and the world didn't come crashing down at our feet!" She gasped dramatically.

"Haha," he retorted, though he could feel his face heating up. He couldn't think of anything intelligent to say, so he opted for silence. _Am I supposed to say something now?_ he wondered, as she continued to look at him. "Rinoa, you …" he paused, wondering how best to put it. Somehow what came out was not what he had intended to say at _all_, but it felt like the truth. "You remind me of shooting stars."

_Unforeseen but sought-after. Beautiful and lucky._

Her eyes widened and filled with unexpected tears. "Squall," she whispered.

_Was he remembering something?_

What happened next was completely unexpected -- for both of them. He found himself taking her hand, and she pulled him closer to her.

He didn't protest, in fact, he put his hand around her waist and drew her even closer, and when she stood on the tips of her toes to bring her lips to his, he met her halfway, his lips crushing down on hers with a sense of urgency that he wouldn't have believed possible.

_He just needed to kiss her … touch her … she was like … coming home._

Her fingers threaded in the hair at the nape of his neck, while his hands roamed the exposed skin of her lower back. His fingers dug gently into her flesh, and she gasped. He had learned that she liked that so long ago, it seemed. But … he wouldn't remember that _now_, would he? How could he? She couldn't for the life of her understand what had come over _him_. Unless …

_He said I reminded him of shooting stars …He remembers … something …_

That was the last coherent thought she had for awhile. She found herself pressed up against the wall, his hands tangled in her hair as he exposed her neck to his lips. He lingered over the spot just below her lower ear, the spot that always drove her _insane_, and she moaned lightly. He brought his mouth back to hers and kissed her again, even _more _insistently if that was possible, and his hands slid lower, and gently cupped her backside and she gasped.

Suddenly the spell seemed to break and he pulled away from her immediately.

His chest was heaving, and his eyes had become that dark shade of gray that they always turned when he was passionate about something. "I'm sorry," he told her, running his hands through his tousled hair, and exhaling loudly.

She shook her head, trying to catch her breath. "Was I complaining?" she said, and it came out meaner than she had anticipated.

"You're upset," he said.

"No, I'm not. But why are you apologizing? And I swear to _Hyne_, Squall Leonhart, if you say one word about what is or is not appropriate, I will deliver my knee directly to your solar plexus." Her eyes were wide, her hair even more disheveled than it had been before, and her expression was supposed to be angry, but he just thought it was about the sweetest thing he'd ever seen.

He shook his head. "I don't know," he finally sighed. "Because I felt like I should. Because I got a little too carried away."

She smiled. "I think you could do with getting carried away more often," she told him, tickling his ribs gently. He squirmed and she grinned. "Oh, ticklish?" she teased, leaning into him. She _knew_ he was ticklish, and that his _most _ticklish spot was on his upper inner thigh …

A sudden sadness washed over her then, and she pulled away. She still remembered all these things about him, these deeply personal things, things that only people who loved each other knew. And he only remembered vague snippets of things … if he remembered anything at all. She wished that she could _make_ him remember. There had to be some way … "I should go," she said after a long moment, and he frowned at her sudden aloofness. "I'll see you at training tomorrow."

He nodded as she left the area, and just watched her go. He was still mildly in awe of what had transpired between them. But part of him wasn't surprised at all … it was almost as if he'd expected it, from the moment she'd walked into Garden.

Now the only question was … how the _hell _was he going to concentrate at training tomorrow morning?

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**A/N: **Oh, wow, I didn't expect _this_ when I started writing this chapter. But it all just seemed to fall together and it seemed right. I hope you guys liked it! XD God, they're adorable, aren't they? Looks like our guy's finally starting to remember some stuff, huh? Unfortunately, all this adorable-ness isn't going to be able to last for much longer. There's some pretty crappy stuff in store in the next few of chapters, which is breaking my heart to think about. Thanks for reading and for all the awesome reviews! You guys are the reason I am writing this so fast:)


	8. Miniature Disasters

_**Chapter Eight**  
**Miniature Disasters**_

Rinoa grabbed a bottle of water off the cart and flopped into the nearest booth in the cafeteria. She'd just finished her first training lesson with Squall, Quistis, and Zell. She'd forgotten how hardcore these SeeDs were about their fighting, and she was _exhausted_.

It didn't help that she hadn't gotten to sleep until after four that morning, either. But with a small smile, she concluded that it was probably worth it in the end. Squall hadn't looked much better for the wear, and it had reminded her of all those times that she had kept him up _way too late_ before.

After sleeping on it, she had come to the conclusion that she wouldn't have traded last night for anything. Yes, it sucked that he _still _didn't remember anything … but Rinoa truly felt like he was getting closer to something. And the fact that it was "all-new" to him sort of made it feel all-new to _her _as well. And honestly, that part wasn't so bad.

"You look beat," Irvine said, sitting down across from her with his lunch tray. "Out of shape?"

Rinoa shook her head, rolling her eyes. "No. I just didn't get much sleep last night, that's all." She began peeling the label off her water bottle, not meeting Irvine's eyes, but unable to stop smiling.

"You're smiling. People who miss out on sleep don't smile like that, unless the _reason _they missed out on sleep was … Rin?"

She looked at him finally and laughed. "Let's just say … it was worth it."

Irvine dropped his fork. "Oh, my Hyne. _Already_? Geez, I had no idea he'd move _that_ fast …"

"Shut _up_!" Rinoa cried, knocking his hat off of his head playfully. "We didn't … do _that_. What kind of girl do you think I am?"

"Well, it's not like you haven't been with him for months," Irvine speculated, reaching down to retrieve his hat. He dusted it off and glared at the girl sitting across from him. This hat was so abused. Selphie used to steal it all the time …

"But as far as he's concerned, we met _three days ago_." She buried her face in her hands. "Ohhh, he probably thinks I'm a slut!" she moaned, but she was still giggling. Truth be told, if _he _hadn't stopped things last night … well, she certainly wouldn't have. It had been too good, being back with him like that.

"Never underestimate the power of a slut, I always say," Irvine said good-naturedly.

"I'm sure Squall doesn't feel that way …" she said, looking at him narrowly.

"He's a guy," Irvine said dryly. "Though he tries to be all stoic or whatever he calls it, he's still a guy. And he's a guy who's had the hots for you from day one, I'd say."

"Whatever. He didn't even like me at first!" she argued.

"I didn't say he liked you. I said he had the hots for you. There's a difference. Don't you remember the first day I met you guys?" Irvine responded.

She nodded. "At Galbadia Garden, yeah. _You _tried to arrange the parties and you were going to take me and Selphie with you, but Squall …"

"Didn't want you going with me, now did he?" Irvine smirked.

"That's not it at all! He wanted to keep his eye on me, I'm sure. I didn't know what I was doing, remember?"

"Oh, he wanted to keep his eye on you all right, but not because of that."

Rinoa grinned. "Seriously?"

"For a smart girl, Rin, you are, like, pretty damn dense sometimes," Irvine teased.

"I didn't think he thought about me at all until …"

"You went in a coma?"

"Well, yeah," Rinoa said. "He never really said anything to me."

"It's because he didn't know _what _to say. With guys like him, it takes a miniature disaster to get them to wake up. The feelings were like, always _there_. It just took that coma to get him to admit them." Irvine shook his head. "You should've seen him, Rin. I'd say it was bordering on pathetic, the way he reacted. He was in the infirmary with you, every day, for, like, hours on end. Dr. Kadowaki had the hardest time getting him to leave. And then one day, he just kinda snapped. He went to the infirmary, picked you up, and carried you on his back to Esthar."

"He what?" Rinoa said. She hadn't known _how _she'd gotten to Esthar, honestly. Whenever she'd asked Squall, he'd just said "Whatever. It doesn't really matter, does it?" And she had always dropped it, thinking that he'd talk about it when he was ready.

"You knew that, right? That Squall … carried you, all the way to Esthar, on his back?"

Rinoa shook her head, and felt a lump forming in her throat. "He would always avoid answering me when I asked what happened. My gods," she whispered. "I can't believe he did that." She turned her head, and began scanning the cafeteria for signs of the Commander.

She saw him, at the doorway, and she waved a little to get his attention. Funny. She knew he saw her, but he turned and walked out the door. "Squall!" she called. "Sorry, Irv, I've gotta …"

"I understand," he said, waving her off. "Later, darlin'."

"Squall!" she called, trying to catch up with him as he walked abnormally quickly down the hallway. "Hey!"

xXx

He'd gone to the cafeteria to find her. He wanted to talk to her, to see if she might be interested in meeting up later on. When he'd gotten there, however, she was sitting in a booth with that Kinneas guy, apparently having quite the conversation.

She was giggling and chattering away happily, like she had no other thoughts in the world. She leaned over flirtatiously and knocked his stupid cowboy hat off of his head, and laughed. She then buried her head in her hands and he heard the word "slut".

Eyes narrowing, he was about to just turn and go. He glanced at her one more time, unsure why he felt so _angry_ right now, and saw how glassy her eyes had gotten and the dreamy expression she now had on her face. Something Kinneas had said had given her that adoring expression, and he was having _none _of it.

He shook his head in disgust, pissed at himself for even caring so much. He turned to leave just as he heard her call out his name. "Whatever," he muttered angrily, not even sparing her a backwards glance.

Stupid. He should've known better. Girls didn't just make out with guys they barely knew unless they were used to that sort of thing … right? He knew she was behind him, but he didn't feel like talking right now. But she was quicker than he had anticipated, and she grabbed his hand before he could escape into his dorm. _Damn it_.

"Hey! I know you heard me back there!" she said, her eyes questioning and a little indignant.

"I don't feel like talking," he said coolly.

"I was looking for you," she said. She still hadn't let go of his hand. And he hadn't pulled away either. Glaring, he jerked his hand back. She frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he practically growled. "Why don't you just go back and continue your conversation with Kinneas?"

"What?" Rinoa asked, confused.

"You two seem to get along … very well," he commented stonily.

Suddenly, realization dawned on Rinoa, and she wasn't confused any more. She was _pissed_. "What _exactly_ are you accusing me of here, Squall?" she said through clenched teeth.

He shrugged. "I probably should've figured it out last night," he said. "You weren't exactly reserved, were you?"

Rinoa took a deep breath to steady her nerves, afraid that she was going to release some of her pent-up aggression in a very _non_-decorous way. "You. Son. Of. A. _Bitch_." Shaking her head, she willed herself not to cry in front of him. "You don't even _know_ me!" As soon as she said the words, the weight of them came crashing onto her head and the tears couldn't be stopped. "You think I just … what, exactly? Make out with whoever's handy at the time? What about _you_, huh? I believe it was _your _hands on _my _ass."

"I saw you flirting with Kinneas!" he shot back, rather at a loss. _Was _he giving her a double-standard? Didn't he _hate_ it when people did that to him?

"Flirting? I was _talking_ to a _friend_. Just because you refuse to speak to _anybody_ doesn't mean that that's how everyone else chooses to be," Rinoa said, ice in her voice.

"You looked more than friendly," he replied. "You were looking at him, all misty-eyed or _whatever_."

Rinoa closed her eyes and put her hand on his chest. "I looked like that, because we were talking about _you_," she said quietly. She bunched her fist around the fabric of his shirt, felt her skin starting to prickle again. High emotions always seemed to cause this problem. She let go of his shirt and pushed him back against his door and turned away.

"Rinoa …" he said, suddenly feeling like the biggest ass on the planet.

She was already walking away from him. "Just … forget it."

"No!" he said suddenly, and reached for her, touching her shoulder.

She shrugged him off. "Don't. You said what you wanted to say. Thank you, for letting me know that my worst fear had come true."

"Rinoa, look at me," Squall said, his anger from earlier now replaced with complete and total chagrin. He realized what he had implied … and he could see how much he had hurt her.

He really _was _an asshole.

Exhaling loudly, he realized that there was a group of students gathering in the hall, watching the spectacle. _Just great_, he thought grimly. "Look," he said quietly. "I want to apologize. Will you meet me tonight?"

She didn't say anything, she just looked at him for a long moment. "You can't apologize _now_?"

"Everyone is staring," he said, trying to speak without moving his lips.

She couldn't help it, the corners of her mouth quirked upwards. Part of her was still mad and hurt, but the bigger part of her knew that deep down, Squall was seriously insecure and his rudeness was merely a defense mechanism. "Where am I supposed to meet you?" she finally asked. He gave her a look and nodded towards his door.

Her eyes widened. "Seriously?" she choked.

"I just want to talk, somewhere we won't be interrupted. Nothing … funny. I promise not to grab your ass again," he said in a low whisper, and she laughed.

"Hmm, well in that case, no," she said teasingly. Then her face turned serious, and she put her hand on his arm. "We'll see."

She enjoyed this part. She knew full well that she would be there, but there was no need to let him know that he'd won already. Let him suffer a little. It would teach him to question her moral fiber. In fact … she had a few other ideas for him, as well. She smirked to herself as she walked away from him.

xXx

It was after midnight when she knocked on his door. She wondered if he was even still awake. She _had_ decided to make him wait longer than was probably necessary. She had also made the decision to _not _change out of her day clothes. Probably safer that way, right?

Not that it mattered any more. It was sad, and pathetic, but if he wanted to … well, there was no way in hell she was going to say no.

He opened the door, and she saw that, thankfully, he was still fully clothed.

No need for this to be any more complicated. It was plenty confusing already. He was her boyfriend of _months_ but at the same time, he was a guy that she was just getting to know, if you looked at it from his perspective. It was hard to find that balance. If he had been anyone else … there's no _way_ she'd have agreed to meet in his room.

But he was Squall. And truth be told, his room was like home to her. "Hi," she said.

"I didn't think you were coming," he said honestly. He moved out of the way so that she could step inside.

She took a deep breath as soon as the door closed behind them, inhaling the familiar scent of the room. It was meticulously neat and tidy, and Rinoa knew for a _fact _that there was an alarming number of cleaning products in the cabinet under his desk. The thought made her smile.

"It's a girl thing," she responded to him, finally. "I couldn't let you know that you were forgiven. You had to suffer a little first. You _did _accuse me of being a slut."

His face reddened and she smiled tenderly at him. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. She knew how hard apologies were for him. He _hated _to be wrong, about anything.

"It's okay," she said gently. "Honestly … I can understand _why_ you might think … _that_, based on last night. I want you to know, though, that, well, I'm _not _like that. I don't just make out with guys because they're there. Or even because they say nice things to me." She laughed a little. "The truth is, I like you. And I know we've only just met, and I don't _technically _know a lot about you … but it feels right to me, you know? _You _feel right to me."

He'd been watching her intently while she'd spoken, and he nodded. "I feel like I've known you for so much longer than a few days," he finally said. "I thought … I swear to Hyne, I just _knew _who you were the day you got here."

Rinoa smiled hopefully. This was good, right? He did remember her … the bond _was _still intact, thank Hyne.

"I think you're the girl in my dreams," he said after a long silence.

"Excuse me?" Rinoa said, genuinely confused.

"I keep having these dreams, or maybe they're just flashbacks. But I've had them for a while now. And there's always a girl who's face I can't see … I think it's you."

Rinoa's heart leapt. "Is that … okay? I mean, meeting your dreams in real life can sometimes be disappointing. I'd hate to disappoint --"

Her sentence was cut off by his mouth on hers. She gasped a little, and then returned the kiss with equal fervor. Her hands pulled on his white t-shirt, untucking it from the waistband of his pants. She pulled it over his head and tossed it aside … suddenly reminded of a night not that very long ago. Her hands ran along his bare torso greedily … she had _missed _him so much.

He pulled away from her, enough to whisper in her ear. "I'm sorry I called you a slut," he said, and she giggled.

"Well, I'm, um, kind of proving you right right now, aren't I?" she joked, as his hands slid up underneath her top to caress the skin of her back.

He lifted her up and carried her over to his bed. "I'm not complaining," he said, nuzzling her neck, licking at the pulse in her throat, causing it to race even faster.

She felt like she was in heaven. _This _was the Squall she had missed. The playful, sexy Squall, the one that only _she _ever got to see. Right or wrong, it didn't matter. She was _his_, and he was _hers_, and by Hyne, she was going to let him do whatever the hell he wanted to do with her tonight.

His hand had just inched up to cup her breast when there was a loud knock at the door, that made both of them jump and sit bolt upright. "Damn it," he hissed. "What?" he barked.

"Squall, it's me," Quistis' voice said, and she sounded frantic. "Please, open up!"

Rolling his eyes he walked to the door, pulling on his shirt in the process. "What is it?" he said brusquely.

Quistis' blue eyes were wide as she surveyed and deduced _what _it was she had just interrupted. "Um, I'm really sorry to … interrupt." She raised her hand in Rinoa's direction, a half-hearted excuse at a wave. "But we just got word from Cid in Trabia. We're not really sure why it took him so long to get in contact with us again, but …"

"But what?" Squall said impatiently. He shot Rinoa an "I'm sorry" look and then turned back to Quistis.

"The Sorceress is back," Quistis said.

Rinoa felt her breath hitch in her throat. "How … how do they know?" she managed to choke out.

"Cid received a letter a couple of weeks ago from a Dr. Cyrus Blakeslee in Esthar. He didn't give a lot of details, but the doctor informed Cid of the situation, and sent along a bunch of information about the new Sorceress. He's apparently been studying the Sorceress phenomenon, and according to him, it was only a matter of time," Quistis explained.

"So Cid … knows who she is?" Rinoa said, her throat dry.

"He had a picture and a name, but the file was stolen about a week ago. And he, of course, didn't think to memorize any of it." Quistis rolled her eyes.

"So … she could be … _anybody_. There's nothing to go on?" Rinoa said, suddenly feeling like the room was too hot, too small, too _everything_.

"Until Cid can either recover the lost file, or find out how to get in touch with this Dr. Blakeslee, we're kind of in the dark. He said he would let us know if he received new information. But he doesn't know when he'll be back." Quistis was obviously distressed.

"This couldn't have waited until tomorrow?" Squall said irritably. Yes, this was _bad_, but damn it, what could he do right now? He'd gladly do what he needed to do, just like they'd done with Ultimecia. But until they had more information …

"That's not all," Quistis said, dreading having to break the news this way. "Edea and Ellone. Squall, the Sorceress has killed them."

"Oh, Hyne," Rinoa gasped, her stomach churning.

Quistis looked at her, worried, but the look on Squall's face told her that her work here was done. "If you need anything …" she said before turning to leave.

"Thanks," he said bluntly, shutting the door behind her. He was feeling a little numb … Matron and Sis? They were dead. He looked at Rinoa then. She was pale and shaking. "Are you all right?"

Rinoa shook her head, and took a deep, steadying breath. It was now or never, right? The more honest she was _now_, the better it would be in the long run. If she tried to hide it, it would only be that much more damning in the future when all of Blakeslee's lies came to light.

"I -- I have Sorceress powers," she whispered.

Squall went to her side, knelt down in front of her. "What?" he said incredulously.

"Before. With … with Ultimecia? She _used _me. She possessed _me_. You fought Adel, right? Ultimecia used _me_ to free her. She made me break Adel's seal, and then she left me to die in space. And _you_ saved me," Rinoa said, staring into his eyes, willing him to _remember_. "You don't remember me, I know. Something's been done to your memory. That Dr. Blakeslee that Quistis mentioned? He kidnapped me, on the night of your 18th birthday, and did _something_ to make you forget. Squall, he raped me, and tortured me because he wants to bring the Sorceress back. And he's trying to use me. I just really need you to remember me right now." Tears fell from her eyes now, and she felt like she was going to hyperventilate. "Think, damn it. I was here, with you. I fought Ultimecia _with you_. You keep saying how familiar I am to you. It's because I am a Sorceress, and _you_, you Squall? You're my Knight."

Squall didn't say anything for a long moment, he just stared at her. "You're a Sorceress?" he said. "Did you kill Edea and Ellone?"

Her eyes widened and she shook her head vehemently. "NO. But Cyrus -- Dr. Blakeslee, he wants everyone to believe that I did. Edea and Ellone were with me. He kidnapped them too, and then told me that he let them go free. I didn't know that he'd killed them. Squall, I swear on everything that I am, and everything that I love. I'm telling the truth." Closing her eyes, she waited for it. Waited for the end to come. What happened next was unbelievable.

He pulled her into his arms and held her close to him. He stroked her hair, like he had done after rescuing her from the Sorceress Memorial long ago. "I don't remember you. That's the honest truth, I'm sorry. But, I don't know how else to explain this bond with you. If you're telling the truth, then I don't have a choice, do I? And if you're not …"

"I'll be close enough for you to deal with quickly, if I'm lying," she said, clinging to him for dear life. "And Squall's sword will pierce my heart," she whispered, remembering those words from so long ago.

"Shh, that's not going to happen," he said, looking into her eyes. "Rinoa, I believe you, about Edea and Ellone."

"You … you do?" she breathed.

"Yes. And if the rest is true … then, Rinoa, you _need _a Knight. Not just for your sake, but for the safety of everyone else." He kissed her softly then, his lips lingering on hers, tasting the salt of her tears. "If you'll let me, I'll be your Knight."

_No matter what happens, even if you end up the world's enemy … I'll be your Knight._

Rinoa smiled and rested her head on his chest. It wasn't perfect … not by a long shot. But Hyne … it was getting closer.

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**A/N: **No, don't worry, this isn't the end. Obviously, there's still a lot we have to do. I mean, we have to get memories restored, find out what the hell happened that night, and, oh, yeah, KILL CYRUS BLAKESLEE. lol I hope you guys liked this chapter! Don't you just love jealous Squall? XDDDD Also, I know this might seem like it's moving a LITTLE fast ... but that's the point. I was trying to make the point that even though Squall doesn't _remember _her, there's a part of him that will always, always know her. The Sorceress/Knight bond isn't one that's easily broken, and that's what I was trying to convey here. I _do actually _know what I'm doing and there's a reason for everything that's happened this far. Anyway, I hope you'll stick with me until the end ... we're getting closer:)


	9. Nevermore

**A/N: **Yeah, I'm writing up here this time! Something different I guess. Anyway ... this chapter is ALL OVER THE PLACE, just so you know. And meant to be. I really think there will only be five more chaps of this fic, tops, so everything is starting to come to a head ... and it's NOT PRETTY. I hope you guys like this chapter, even though it is, by all rights FREAKIN' CRAZY. Enjoy!

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_**  
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_** Chapter Nine**  
**Nevermore**_

His thoughts kept him awake long into the night. What had he done?

When Rinoa was there, everything was light, airy, serene. Sort of like he was looking at the world through blurred-focus lenses. She made things hazy and soft, she gave him peace of mind. The line between good and evil, black and white wasn't so clearly drawn in those moments. The world had long associated Sorceresses with evil. But not all sorceresses _were_ bad. Edea had been a good sorceress. And if what she had told him was even _partly_ true, then Rinoa was, too.

When he was alone, his thoughts were sharper and clearer, with a definite air of inflexibility. The world was more clearly defined in these moments. Black and white had an absolute separation. Sorceress meant Evil. Any Sorceress allowed to live free was a threat to the planet. In these times, the dark part of his mind wondered if Rinoa wasn't working with this Dr. Blakeslee on his plot to bring back the Sorceress.

_But then … why would she even tell you? _

She had been genuinely terrified. After she had told him about being a Sorceress, about this doctor's plan, he had seen the anguish in her eyes, could almost _feel _the pain radiating from her lithe form. And he said the first thing that had come to his mind.

_I believe you … I'll be your Knight_.

Now he wasn't sure _why_. True, it made more sense to keep her close to him, in case this was a plot against SeeD -- against _him_. But he knew that that wasn't it at all.

The bigger part of him -- the _rational _part -- was still a little skeptical … but he knew couldn't let her leave, not without him. Not when there was the _possibility_ of danger.

But the part of him that he hadn't acknowledged in _years_ -- the emotional part, the heart of him -- wanted so badly to believe that she had been telling the truth. Wouldn't that explain why the emptiness seemed a little less intimidating, now that she was here? And that part of him also acknowledged that he couldn't let her leave … without him.

They needed to find out more about this Dr. Cyrus Blakeslee. First thing in the morning, he would assign everybody to do research and find out as much as they could about the man. He wouldn't tell them what Rinoa had told him, not yet. Not until he knew whether or not _he _believed her.

xXx

He didn't speak to her at all the next morning. Rinoa wondered if he, too, had had trouble sleeping. She wanted to ask him, but she felt unsure around him now. He had agreed to be her Knight again _(still)_ in a moment of extreme emotional turmoil. Discovering that the woman who had raised him, _and _the woman he loved like a sister had been murdered must have been hard on him. And he _had _said that he wasn't doing it just for her, but for _everyone else's safety_. This wasn't like last time. He didn't know that he loved her … he wasn't trying to save _her_ soul, he was trying to save the world _from _her. She decided to give him space, and let him come to her.

It would be easier, right?

Everything had seemed almost okay the previous night. A huge weight felt like it had been lifted as she had sat there, wrapped in his embrace again. But when she woke up that morning, in her own room, all alone, things didn't seem so fine.

She skipped training, and instead walked aimlessly around the Garden. When she came to a set of grand double doors, she smiled faintly. The ballroom. Deciding to try her luck, she turned the handle, and was pleasantly surprised to find it unlocked. She walked into the large and empty room, her footsteps echoing on the highly polished floor. She looked around at the familiar space, a sense of tranquility filling her.

_This was where it all began._

She stood in the middle of the floor, and though the daylight was streaming down through the domed glass ceiling, if she closed her eyes, she could perfectly imagine the moonlit night, the music, the shooting star, the boy …

Feeling unsteady, she sat down and drew her knees up under her chin. Suddenly, she had never felt more alone. She wrapped her arms around her knees, put her head down, and sobbed. _No matter what, _she thought, _he won't let me go bad. I won't be able to hurt anyone … he won't let me. Hyne, what did Cyrus DO to everyone? Why can't Squall remember me?_

"Rinoa?" The voice was a very tiny whisper, somewhere in the back of her mind. Her head jerked up, and she looked around. No one was there.

The faint sound of laughter echoed in her head now. Was she -- was she going crazy? "Rinoa … it's me."

"Ellone?" Rinoa whispered. "Oh, my Hyne, are you …"

"I'm alive. Edea too. We're still here … at the lab. I can help. I want to help you. Just a little more time … and maybe we can finally get some answers."

"How?" Rinoa asked.

"I've been trying to go through Squall, to jog his memories …"

"It _was _you!" Rinoa breathed.

"… but he keeps pushing me out. Seifer was a bit more receptive, but still not enough. Is there anyone that you think …"

"No, keep trying Squall," Rinoa said quietly. "I told him the truth … last night. And I'll tell him that you're still alive. He knows you can speak to people this way, doesn't he?" She nodded to herself. "Maybe he'll believe me this time. With _proof_."

"Okay, Rinoa. I've got to disconnect now, I'm sorry. Very soon, hopefully …"

And then the voice was gone. "Very soon, what?" she wondered out loud.

Dammit. What had Ellone meant by "very soon, hopefully"? But she'd never know, would she. She was alone again.

Or so she thought. She felt more than saw the shadow above her block out some of the sunlight. Looking up, she saw him, slate blue eyes staring at her intently. He reached out a hand and helped her stand up.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him finally.

"Well, you didn't come to training," he answered.

She shrugged. "Well, I figured, I'm not really here for SeeD, and now that you know … I just needed to be alone."

He paused. "So you're still standing by everything you told me last night?" he finally asked.

"Why wouldn't I? I told the truth. I'm sorry if you find it hard to believe. Imagine how _I _feel, Squall," Rinoa said helplessly.

"I can't," he said honestly. "If you really believe what you say is true, then I can't imagine what that must feel like."

"No, it's easy for you," she said coolly. "You're not the one who has to deal with all of the memories of what we _used_ to be." Her mouth was in a firm line, and he finally took a minute to study her.

She was dressed all in white … white shorts and a white tank top, white sneakers on her feet. There was a white satin ribbon serving as a headband in her glossy dark hair. He was suddenly struck by the strong likeness that she had to an angel he'd seen in a storybook when he was much younger.

Edea had always read the orphans special stories, specifically chosen for each child. He didn't know about anyone else's, but his was about a young warrior and the angel that fell in love with him. Edea had always told Squall that the angel would always be looking out for him, and that one day, if he was very very good, he might be able to meet her. The story had been a great comfort to him after Elle had left the orphanage.

Funny that he hadn't remembered that until now …

"You were talking to yourself," he finally said after snapping out of his reverie.

Suddenly remembering, she shook her head. "No. It was … Ellone. She was connecting with me."

His head shot up. "Ellone? Sis? You mean she's …"

"She's not dead, Squall. Neither is Edea. Ellone's been _trying _to get through to you, but you keep shutting her out," Rinoa said quietly.

"It's been her all this time?" he asked, incredulously.

"If you just let her, she can help. She can show you the truth … and maybe we can figure out what happened." Rinoa reached out and took his hand, and a sudden jolt passed through her. She jumped back and yelped. "Ouch! What the hell was that?"

"Wait," he said bemusedly, looking at his hand, and then back at her. "C'mere for a second."

Rinoa's heart thudded in her chest as he smiled at her _(oh my Hyne, it's THAT smile)_, and pulled her to him. With a last long look into her eyes, he leaned down and kissed her.

She lost herself in that kiss, and he didn't seem to be in any hurry to let go. In fact, he seemed to get more and more insistent as the kiss went on … she couldn't help but wonder just what in the _hell_ was going on.

xXx

The images that he'd been denying were finally flying into his brain, one after the other. The dance, the mission in Timber, the Lunar Base, the Ragnarok, the Sorceress Memorial, the flower field, the balcony, his birthday … Rinoa, Rinoa, Rinoa …

He pushed her away from him, a little rougher than had been his intention, just to _look _at her. "How long has it been?" he asked hoarsely.

She looked at him, puzzled. "Uh, about three minutes, I'd say, since you went totally insane …"

"Rinoa, what's the damn date?" he barked and she jumped a little.

"September 10th," she said. "But … _why_?"

"September 10th. That's over two weeks. _Over two weeks_? Hyne, it feels like so much longer."

"You're not making any sense at all … what the hell is wrong with you? Why are you babbling like that?"

He looked at her, absolutely amazed that she would even _ask_ such a question. "I _forgot _you."

Rinoa froze. "You … what?" She dared not even hope …

"What happened? While you were gone … you were gone for … over two weeks. Where _were _you?"

"Squall?" Rinoa choked. "Squall, are you … you mean … Oh, my Hyne you _remember_?"

"I'm so sorry, Rin," he said, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tighter than she'd ever been held before. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," she breathed, relaxing against him. "It's okay now."

"You need to tell me what happened to you," he said solemnly.

"I will. But not here … it's …" She started to cry then, unable to contain her emotions any more.

"What the hell happened to you?" Squall demanded. "Wait … you told me last night … that Blakeslee guy … Rin, did he …"

She could only nod miserably. "And he's going to come back for me. He gave me two months … and said that no one remembered me, and that I'd be all his and …"

"That's not fucking happening," Squall said venomously. "He'll have to kill me first."

"But, Hyne, Squall, no _one _remembers me. Honestly, if it wasn't for Irvine …" Rinoa began. "Cid apparently got information about me from Dr. Blakeslee. Saying that I killed Edea and Ellone. And he was going to come back here and give you all orders to kill me on sight. But Irvine and the Trabia headmistress managed to get rid of the file. I owe them _everything_. If not for them … I wouldn't have gotten back here, to you, in time … and you … you would've tried to kill me … "

"Wait … why wasn't Irvine effected by whatever it was that made us all forget?" Squall asked.

Rinoa shook her head. "The only thing I can come up with is that he wasn't here the night of your party … he left with some redhead. Ellone said she would try to help us figure it out. But it will take a while."

"Hyne, this is a lot to process," Squall muttered, rubbing his temples. "All I want to do is lock you in a room and make sure that you don't leave my sight ever again."

Rinoa laughed. "That would be good. But there's so much left to do. Hopefully Ellone can get through to everyone else … I don't even know if it'll work on them. _I _seemed to be the catalyst for your memory. Man, I hope I'm not going to have to kiss _everyone_!" she joked, eyes twinkling with merriment that she hadn't thought she'd ever feel again.

Squall's eyes went dark. "Me too," he said gruffly.

Rinoa just shook her head at him. "Like I would," she said. "I'm not a _slut_." He laughed, thinking about absolute insanity of the past few days.

Then he suddenly stopped and just looked at her. "How could I have forgotten you?" he whispered, touching her face.

"It's not your fault," she said, taking his hand. "C'mon, I'm starving!" She pulled him out the door, toward the cafeteria.

"Oh, I'll meet you there!" she said as they passed the hall that led to the dorms. "I just need to put my blaster edge away."

"I'll go with you," Squall said insistently.

"I'll be all right for five minutes, Commander. I'm just going to run to my room, drop off my weapon, and I'll be _right there_." She stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Go save us a good spot."

He watched her walk down the hallway toward her room, unable to shake the sinking feeling that he had in his gut. Everything … it all seemed _too _easy. When things were _too _easy, it usually meant that disaster wasn't far behind. Without a second thought, he took off down the hallway after her.

He wasn't going to lose her again.

xXx

Rinoa was humming to herself as she opened the door to her room. She couldn't remember ever feeling this happy. Ellone hadn't been kidding when she'd said "very soon".

"Think you're so clever, don't you, _Rinoa_?" a hideously familiar voice sneered from the shadows.

Her blood froze in her veins at the sound. She reached for the door, desperate to get outside, where there would be witnesses, where she could scream and be _heard_.

But there was a sickening crack and a blinding pain and her world exploded into thousands of tiny stars.

_This is the end_, was the last coherent thought she had.


	10. When You're Gone

**A/N: **So, I'm sure you noticed that I changed the title of this fic. I hope it didn't cause any confusion:) Um, basically I did that because, when I started writing this fic, I was planning on going in a different direction than I ultimately ended up going. :p So, while the old title worked really well for THAT idea, it doesn't work so well any more. The new title comes from a song by Coldplay with the same name, which I think you should allllll listen to. It's the perfect Squall/Rinoa song. Anyway! Hope you enjoy this chapter:)

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_**Chapter Ten**  
**When You're Gone**_

His knuckles were bruised and bloody, crying out for a reprieve, but he wouldn't give them one. He kept jabbing at and punching the heavy bag that hung in the corner of his room, as if it would help. He _deserved _this pain, damn it. He should've _insisted_ on going with her, he shouldn't have let her out of his sight for a _second_.

Damn it, she was _gone_. Again. She'd been gone for nearly a week now. And nobody fucking understood. To them, she was still just the prospective student who had shown up, and had disappeared. And it was bad to them, but they had _no fucking idea_ just how bad it was. He'd tried talking to Dr. Kadowaki, tried explaining to her … and she'd offered him a sedative. Like he was mental or something.

He didn't _need_ a gods-damned sedative. He _needed _to find Rinoa. But he couldn't leave, Hyne no, not with Cid absent and doing Hyne-knew-what wherever the hell he was. Without Cid's permission, SeeD members weren't allowed to go farther than the town of Balamb.

"Damn it, damn it, _damn it_!" he bellowed, punching the bag harder than ever. He didn't care if he broke his hands. He just _didn't fucking care_. It probably served him right, for forgetting about her completely … _how _could that have happened? What the hell had happened to make them all lose their memories like that? And why hadn't they forgotten anything else?

It was just as she'd said … it was meant to erase _her_ from their minds … and anything or anyone who could stand in the way of that. But why had _Irvine _been forgotten, as well? Why the hell hadn't they forgotten _everybody _and _everything_? Why was it only Rinoa and … for some inexplicable reason, _Irvine _… who had been erased from memories?

Damn it. That meant that the doctor -- Blakeslee -- he had someone working for him _in Garden_.

Squall finally stopped punching the bag and leaned against the wall, examining the damage to his hands caused by two solid hours of beating on that bag. He needed to figure out what had happened that night. But the only person who could help him with that was … well, he didn't know _where_ she was. Just that she was still able to send him the visions of the past. He wished she'd _connect _with him, damn it, so he could _ask _her about that night. Make her _show _him that night. Through Dr. Blakeslee's eyes.

And he needed to find the girl that Irvine had been with the night of his birthday. Squall had a bad feeling about her … and he didn't even know who she was.

xXx

An hour later, after he had showered and bandaged his hands, he was sitting in the library, waiting for Irvine to join him. Apparently, when Ellone had returned his memories of Rinoa, he'd also gotten his memories of Irvine back. He wondered how long it would be before Ellone was able to help everyone else. It would be nice when they all stopped treating him like a head-case.

Irvine sauntered in, looking nervous. Squall didn't usually call for meetings after dinner, but his note had said it was "URGENT". Irvine wasn't going to argue. It probably had something to do with Rinoa. Now that Squall's memories were back, they could _finally _concentrate on finding out who this Blakeslee creep was, and where he was keeping Rinoa _this _time. There was no doubt in either of their minds that that was where she was.

"Irvine, I need to know about the girl you left my party with," Squall said, before the other man had even sat down.

"Excuse me?" Irvine said, quirking an eyebrow upward. "Is this really the …"

"_Look_," Squall said evenly. "For some reason, we only forgot Rinoa and _you_. You were not here that night, you were with the girl. Was she with you all night?"

Irvine looked slightly offended. "_Yes_," he said vehemently. Then, rethinking, he added, "Well, like, not _all _night," he said. "She got up and left around four-thirty or five-ish."

Squall massaged his temples. "_What_?"

Irvine, sudden realization dawned, jumped up. "What the hell? It was _her_. _She_ did something! I'm, like the biggest idiot in the world."

Squall didn't disagree, but he didn't say anything for a long moment. "What's her name?" he finally asked, as calmly as he could. "Is she a student here?"

"Nah, she lives in FH," Irvine said. "Her name's Drea, and I met her when we were like, docked back there. We flirted. I just thought it was, like, fun or something."

"Didn't bother to think about how Selphie would feel about all this?" Squall said irritably, feeling a headache coming on. "Never mind. Anyway. You and I, we need to go back to FH and talk to this Drea. Find out what she knows. And Irvine, I _am_ prepared to use force if it comes to it. If she's got _anything _to do with Rinoa being gone …"

"Me too." A female voice came from behind them, and both men turned around to see Selphie standing there, looking shell-shocked.

"Selphie?" Irvine asked, concerned. The girl looked a little green around the gills.

Her green eyes had an unnatural glassy sparkle to them, like she was trying to hold back tears. She looked at Irvine, her mouth in a thin line. "You do me a favor, and _you _don't talk to me right now," she told him coldly … it was the meanest Squall had ever _heard_ Selphie. She turned to Squall. "Um, Ellone … she's not dead, is she?"

Squall shook his head, wondering if this was leading where he thought it was. "Did she …?"

Selphie nodded. "Everything! It just all came back at once and I seriously almost passed out. Hyne, Squall, we forgot _Rinoa_!"

"And Irvine," Irvine pointed out dully.

She barely glanced at him. "I'm only concerned with Rinoa at the moment," she snapped.

"I think that means you're busted," Squall said to him.

"So much more than busted," Selphie said venomously. "If I could feed you to a Malboro right now … I wouldn't hesitate."

"Sefie …" Irvine said, feeling worse than he had felt in a long, long time.

"Don't. Look. I want to help Rinoa however I can. If that means I have to put up with you, so be it. But _read my lips_ Irvine Kinneas … I am _not _speaking to you," Selphie hissed.

Squall felt like he was intruding, but he was afraid if he left, Selphie might _seriously_ hurt Kinneas. Instead, he cleared his throat. "Uh, Selphie?"

"Yes, Squall?" she said sweetly, a stark contrast to her prior angry tone.

"We'd be happy to have you along, of course, but, uh, you _do_ realize who we're going to see, don't you?"

"I do. And trust me when I say that I'm only doing this to help Rinny, but if I get to kick _Drea's _ass, it will just be a big fat bonus," she said. Irvine winced at her tone. She was as angry as he'd ever seen anyone, and it pained him to know that it was _all _directed at _him_.

"So, like, when do we leave?" Irvine said cautiously.

"As soon as possible," Squall said. "We're not technically supposed to leave at all … this will be against the rules. Are you prepared for the consequences?"

Selphie nodded vigorously. "Of course! Rinoa is _much _more important than anything else. They can kick me out, I don't care! I just … I feel like I have to make it up to her."

Squall almost laughed. For the first time in his life, he actually agreed wholeheartedly with Selphie Tilmitt. "Then get packed and meet at the front gate in an hour," he instructed. "Don't tell _anyone _what's going on."

"We're leaving tonight?" Irvine asked, eyes wide.

"We'll head to Balamb and catch the first boat out of there heading to FH. It's been two days since …" he trailed off, unable to finish that sentence. He took a deep breath, tried to steady himself. "We can't waste any more time."

Selphie's eyes were bright and earnest. "All right. One hour, see you then!"

Irvine turned to Squall after the girl was gone. "She's so pissed," he moaned into his hands.

Squall rolled his eyes. "Whatever. You're not getting any sympathy outta me for this one. Now quit bitching and go get your stuff."

An hour later, they were taking their first steps away from Balamb Garden. Selphie looked back over her shoulder and sighed. "You realize we might not ever get back here?" she whispered.

"Don't say things like that, Sefie!" Irvine chastised gently.

"I wasn't even _talking _to you," Selphie said snottily. "Shut up."

"Both of you shut up," Squall hissed. Hyne, if he had to put up with this for more than a few days he might _actually _go insane. "Besides, Irvine, she's right. If either of you aren't sure about this, now's the time to turn back." He didn't stop walking.

"You're not even going to pause?" Selphie asked, though she already understood. She just wanted to know if he'd say it. "It was your home for almost your whole life."

Shaking his head, he laughed sardonically. "Yeah. Home for my whole life … but my life wasn't worth _anything _until her …"

In the darkness, Selphie smiled, feeling as proud of Squall as a parent feels about their child taking his first steps.

Squall kept walking resolutely, toward the town of Balamb. Maybe he'd never get back here. But if he stayed here, hoping for the best, while Rinoa was in the hands of a madman who'd already done the _unspeakable_ … His blood boiled just thinking about it. Thinking about her being used and violated in that way … she was scared and alone.

The decision was an easy one. Easy, like the time he'd gone to the Sorceress Memorial. Actually, easier. He'd hesitated briefly then, and it had almost cost him _everything_. This time, he didn't even look back over his shoulder.

xXx

She wanted to die. She had never felt so much pain in her entire life. At least two of her ribs were broken, and she was covered in bruises and more of those ugly red welts that she got from the electrodes. Her eyes were so swollen that she was looking through slits.

He had promised her two months of freedom, but he had lied.

He told her that as soon as he'd let her go, he had known that he made a huge mistake. Something had gone _wrong_, he said. Something about someone "slipping through the cracks" and nearly ruining everything. He had asked her if anyone had remembered her, and, fearing for the lives of all those she held dear, she had lied, and said no.

And he'd been happy. So very sickeningly happy. "See?" he had crowed. "I told you, Rinoa, you are meant to be _mine_. Together, we can rule the world." And when she had started crying, he had beaten her. "You will be _happy_ with me, do you _understand_?" he had hissed at her, after he had knocked her into one of the tables in his lab. She had stumbled and fallen, and he had kicked her repeatedly. That's where the broken ribs had come from.

When he was done thrashing her, he had raped her. It had hurt like nothing else had ever hurt before. He groped and grabbed and pulled and pinched and made her want to scream out from the supreme agony of it all. The broken ribs were so painful that she nearly fainted.

He must have mistaken her throes of misery for throes of ecstasy, for he seemed sublimely happy with himself. "Your precious _Commander _could never do this for you," he had whispered into her ear as he entered her. "I'm a _real man_, Rinoa, isn't this better than anything that clumsy _boy _could ever give you?"

_No … Because he is magnificent and sensitive and tender. He makes me feel whole and loved when he's inside me; he makes me want to fly … you make me feel empty and soulless. It feels like you're ripping me apart, piece by bloody piece … Please … stop. You make me sick. You make me want to die. You're killing me …_

She kept her thoughts of Squall at the forefront of her mind.

_The beautiful boy under the domed ceiling of the ballroom, with the cool expression on his face. _

_The slate-blue eyes that turned gray when he was angry … or turned on. _

_The tousled brown hair that felt like silk beneath her fingertips. _

_The firm gentleness of his hands; the way the calluses felt against her smooth skin. _

_The way his laugh sounded, the way he smiled, the way he kissed … _

Cyrus finished with her, and then lifted her up off of the ground. She was in and out of consciousness at this point, and barely noticed when he tore the clothing off of her form, bandaged her ribs, and administered some pain medication to her. If anyone had walked in and seen this, they would have merely seen a doctor tending to a very injured young woman. They wouldn't have known the truth.

The truth would have sickened them. For the "Good Doctor" took his patient back to his own room with him, and defiled her unconscious body several more times before the night was through.

Rinoa woke up the next morning, and found herself alone and naked in his bed. There was blood on the sheets -- hers, no doubt.

She wondered bleakly what Squall was doing now. He was worried … she could almost _feel _it. _The bond_, she thought weakly. _Squall …_

As her eyelids grew heavy with sleep, she swore to Hyne that she heard his voice. _Rinoa … I'll find you. Stay alive for me._

And though she was sure she was hallucinating, she still vowed to do just that. She wouldn't give Cyrus the pleasure of killing her, not if she could _possibly _help it. The thought gave her a tiny bit of hope.

_I love you … _she thought as she lay her head back down on the pillow and closed her eyes.

_I love you_ … his voice whispered back, and it felt as though he were right there with her. She allowed this small comfort to lull her back to sleep.


	11. Somewhere a Clock is Ticking

_**Chapter Eleven**  
**Somewhere a Clock is Ticking**_

If they didn't stop bickering soon, he swore to Hyne, he was going to start slashing freely with his gunblade. They had just reached Balamb, and had learned that the next boat to FH didn't leave until the next day at noon. Needless to say, Squall was _not _in the best of moods as they made their way to the hotel.

Didn't Irvine and Selphie realize that there were _other _things at stake here? Like Rinoa's sanity for one. He _knew _what that monster of a doctor had done to her before … no telling what she horrors she was being made to endure now. The thought of _anybody _else touching Rinoa made his blood boil; the thought of a sadistic madman touching her made him _murderous_.

"Squall, are you okay?" Irvine asked as they walked through the quiet streets of Balamb. Squall didn't say anything. Irvine shrugged and turned to Selphie, trying to start a conversation with her for what seemed like the 80th time since they'd left Garden. "Guess he doesn't feel like talking right now."

"What makes you think _I_ do?" Selphie remarked irritably. "I told you I didn't have anything to say to you _before_, didn't I?"

"But, Sefie …" Irvine said.

Squall exhaled loudly and pushed open the doors to the Hotel. He paid the concierge enough for two rooms and thrust one of the keys roughly into Selphie's hands. "Deal with this by tomorrow morning or I'm leaving you both here," he said coldly before turning to walk to his own room.

Once inside, he slammed the door shut with such force that it shook the room, and probably the adjacent ones, too. He didn't care. It didn't matter. Let management come and tell him he was a disturbance … _let them_. He could barely see through the red in his vision.

How could he have let her go? He could've argued with her … he could've followed her. He _should've_. If he had … he could have protected her. That was his _job_ wasn't it? He was her fucking _knight_, wasn't he? Angrily, he yanked off his leather jacket and threw it across the room with a growl.

_Some knight I've been_, he thought miserably, sitting down on the edge of the bed and putting his head in his hands. He didn't know if he had it in him to cry, but _damn it_, he was supposed to be with _her _right now. Lying next to her in his bed, just _breathing her_. Making promises that were silly and serious all at the same time. Knowing that she was safe with him.

She _was _safe with him, damn it. Why couldn't he just _keep her with him_? Why did something always have to try and keep them apart?

Well, not any more. To hell with SeeD, to hell with it all. He was a SeeD only because it was the only thing he'd ever known. But he was done with it. When he got her back, they were going to Winhill. They could live in there, where it was safe and quiet. Where nothing ever happened. It would be nice there. Peaceful. Squall was ready for some peace. And Laguna would give him the old house if he asked for it.

Sighing in frustration, he removed his boots and lie back on the bed, lacing his fingers together behind his head. He stared up at the ceiling, and hoped with every piece of him that Rinoa was okay. Closing his eyes, he prayed that sleep would come easily that night.

He had just started to drift to sleep when he heard her. _Squall!_

He sat up straight in bed, and though he knew she wasn't there, he still looked for her. "Rin?" he said.

_You can hear me?_

"Yes," he said, hoping that he wasn't _actually _losing his mind.

He swore he heard he sigh with relief. _Okay, then. I was just checking._

"Are you okay?" he asked her, although he wasn't sure he wanted the answer.

_No_.

Squall shuddered and jerked awake. A dream. It had only been a dream. But somehow … he didn't think the message had been wrong.

xXx

She woke up, her eyes moist with tears, wishing she could have stayed asleep. Even if she _was _only dreaming, it had been nice to hear him again. And he'd been so concerned. It always floored her, how somehow _she _had gotten cold-as-ice Squall Leonhart to _care_.

Damn it … she missed him.

At least she was in her own room again. All it had taken was her throwing up on Cyrus once for him to rush her back into her own quarters, cursing violently and tossing her roughly into the room. He had locked her in, telling her she would be sorry for this later on.

And she knew that she would be. But right now, she was just glad to be _alone_. She hadn't gotten any peace for the last few days, for Cyrus always needed her for one reason or the other. None of the reasons were pleasant. They all involved her being exploited and used in some way.

Lying down on the cot gingerly, so as not to cause herself any more pain than was necessary, she wondered what Squall was doing now. She had fallen asleep, thinking of him, and had dreamed that she was speaking to him. It had seemed so real. Too real to be a dream, but too incredible to be anything but.

They couldn't … _really _be communicating that way, could they? She knew that Ellone could do it, but Elle was special. Rinoa was hardly gifted like that. And she was pretty sure _Squall _didn't possess that kind of ability.

It was just wishful thinking, she thought as she closed her eyes again.

She dreamed about the flower field, the cherry blossoms flying in the air, as they stood, hand-in-hand, and looked out over the meadow.

"When you find me," she heard herself saying. "You'll bring me here, won't you?"

"Is this where you want to be?" he asked, squeezing her hand gently.

"Yes," she breathed. "You'll be here, too, right?"

"I'll be here. Waiting for you." He smiled at her then, and she smiled back. Closing her eyes, she whispered the next words to herself.

"I promise."

xXx

He woke up screaming her name. He'd had the dream again, about time compression. But this time, she hadn't saved him. She hadn't been there. As soon as her helmet shattered, she had shattered along with it.

"Rinoa!"

Breathing heavily, and drenched in a cold sweat, he stood up, and paced around the room. Willing the nightmarish image of her shattering into a million pieces before his eyes away. He was shaking. Hyne, if something happened to her … he would _never _forgive himself for as long as he lived.

If something happened to Rinoa …

Since he was up, he showered, dressed, and made sure that he had everything prepared for the trip to FH. It would take less than six hours to get there from Balamb, and he was planning on wasting no time once they got there.

He only hoped this wasn't some wild goose chase -- that they weren't wasting precious time with this Drea in FH. And that she _really _did have something to do with everything, because right now, Squall needed someone to be mad at.

Someone besides himself.

He met Selphie and Irvine at the harbor a little before eleven that morning, and he eyed his comrades carefully. They hadn't said anything all morning, and he only hoped that it meant that they had decided to give up talking altogether. One could always dream.

They boarded the ship, the _S.S. Beacon_, shortly thereafter, and Squall immediately headed for a secluded corner of the deck, staring out over the water. His expression and body language let anyone know that this was _not _a person interested in idle chatter.

His dreams the previous night had only caused him more inner turmoil. _Rinoa was not doing well. _Of that much he was certain. What if they were already too late? He continued to stare out over the sea, and hope to Hyne that he would get to her in time.

Who knew what was happening to her right now? Was he beating her? Doing his "experiments"? Or was he just raping her? For no reason other than that he could? Squall's hands formed into fists and he had the overwhelming urge to just _start punching things_.

"Squall?" Selphie's voice was tentative as she approached him, a few hours. "Are you okay?"

He mumbled something unintelligibly under his breath, and she furrowed her brow. "What was that?"

"I don't want to talk right now, Selphie," he said through clenched teeth.

"Well, we're almost there, that's all," Selphie said cautiously, hoping that the Commander wouldn't snap at her.

Irvine had walked over. "Yeah, I'd say we're only, like, a half-hour from FH now," he added.

Selphie shot him a withering glare. "Bet you can't wait to see your girlfriend, can you?" she snarked.

"Sefie," Irvine said sadly. "I've already apologized for that … like, a hundred times, at least!"

"Oh, and that's supposed to make it all go away, huh?" Selphie snapped. She was on her tiptoes, at her fullest height, and was jabbing her finger into his chest angrily. "It doesn't _work _like that, Irvine! I was willing to give you _everything _and you threw it away. For some redheaded floozy, who _might _be the reason that all of this has happened in the first place!"

Squall, who had put his head in his hands when the confrontation had begun, could take no more. He jumped up out of his chair and glared at the pair of them. "For the love of Hyne, will you _please _shut the fuck up?" he barked. "I appreciate that you have problems. But right now, I don't give a rat's ass. Because _right now_, there are bigger things to deal with. _Rinoa _is in a lab with a doctor who is performing all kinds of sick and twisted experiments on her. A doctor who is _raping _her.

"Do you _understand_, even a little bit, that for _once_, it isn't about you? We're not back at Garden any more, where the most important thing is who's-dating or who's-fucking-_who_. We might not be going back to Garden at all! _This _is what's real, _this _is what's important _now_. And the more time you two waste arguing, the less time there is to be thinking about what we're going to do once we get to FH and beyond! We need a _plan_. And if you really want to be here, _start _acting like it!" His eyes were flashing, the stony color of granite, and his mouth was set in a very firm line.

Selphie's green eyes were wide with shock, and Irvine looked chagrined. Squall was just about as mad as they'd ever seen him. He certainly had never spoken that much at any one time before, as far as they knew.

"You're right, Squall," Selphie whispered. "We're being stupid. I'm sorry." She wanted to cry. She'd had no idea what exactly had been going on with Rinoa … because she hadn't even _once _bothered to ask. She could've asked last night for more details, but she'd been too worried about being mad at Irvine to even _think_ about anyone else.

"Yeah, me too," Irvine mumbled humbly, his head bowed in shame. "But … why waste time in FH … why not just go straight to Esthar?"

"With no leads?" Squall questioned, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Look, this girl might _actually _have some useful information. If she doesn't, we'll go to Esthar _then_. Maybe Laguna knows something. But we're not going to pass up a perfectly good opportunity to question a suspicious person who may or may not be responsible for a good portion of what happened."

"You're right," Irvine said. "It's just …" he looked at Selphie tentatively. "She just seemed, like, so _normal_."

Selphie sighed in exasperation. "Was she _supposed _to wear a button that says 'Hi, I'm a psychopath who steals people's memories! Ask me how'?" She looked at Squall quickly. "Sorry," she muttered.

Squall took a deep breath. "Look, Irvine, all right. She seemed normal. But right now, we have to go on the fact that you were _with _her the night of my birthday, and you were unaffected by whatever it was that incapacitated the rest of us."

Irvine finally conceded. "All right."

Squall sighed and sat back down, going back to ignoring everyone around him. They'd be in FH in about fifteen minutes, and then maybe, just maybe, they would finally have some answers.

xXx

Thirty minutes later, they were following Irvine through FH. He finally stopped at a small, modest wooden house, right on the waterfront. He knocked on the door, and was surprised to find it open.

He pushed it and walked into the main room of the house. The smell that greeted them upon entering was overpowering and fetid. "She does a lot of experiments. She's, like, a scientist," Irvine explained.

The place appeared to have been ransacked. There were several sheets of paper with writing all over them strewn about the room. The furniture was all overturned or in other such forms of disarray, lamps were broken, china was shattered.

"Drea?" Irvine called out. "Are you here?"

Selphie moved about the room, her green eyes scanning everything carefully. Her gaze landed on a sheet of paper and she gasped. "Oh, my Hyne!" Her hand flew to her mouth and she held out the paper to Squall.

He took it, his brow furrowed. At first it appeared to just be a torn page from a diary. It was dated August 21st. It listed things she needed to buy at the store, and an appointment with a C.B. the next day, at the FH Hotel. But then came to several lines near the bottom, and he felt his heart speed up.

"_I've finally gotten hold of the Malboro tentacles I need for Perdita Memoria, thanks to C.B. Can't wait to get it finished. I just need to get a bit of I.K.'s hair. I can do that tonight, when he comes by, though. Once it's done, I'll be able to use it at that horrible Garden. He'll have no choice but to leave that wretched place behind and stay here with me! I've already told him he's more than welcome here … and when he realizes that nobody knows who he is, the rest will be easy …"_

Selphie was blinking rapidly, and Squall looked like he was holding live ammunition. "_Perdita Memoria_?" he asked no one in particular.

"Whatever it was, it was meant to be used on everyone at Garden …" Irvine added, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"To make us forget _you_," Selphie added, but there was no hint of animosity in her voice. "She wanted you to leave Garden and stay with her."

Irvine took a deep breath. "She'd hinted at it, several times, but, like _jokingly_. I had no idea she was _serious_ about me actually living here with her."

"She was more than serious," Squall added. "She was obsessed. But who's this … C.B.?"

"Cyrus Blakeslee," Irvine whispered, picking up another piece of paper, this one dated August 7th.

"_Met with C.B. today. He's a doctor from Esthar, he used to work with THE Dr. Odine! Very interested in my work. Offered to fund me, and help me with my supplies. He seems especially interested in Perdita. Says he is working on a project that it might come in handy for. Of course, I offered to help him any way I could. I've only been working on the Perdita for about a month now, so it was nice for such a big-shot doctor to tell me it had potential, already! When he asked if I had a specific target in mind for the Perdita, I told him no. I didn't want to jinx it, should something go wrong. He seemed pleased. Told me to let him make the initial decision. I agreed, of course, but I'm still planning on using it for I.K. -- he IS the reason I created it, after all. I just won't tell C. …"_

Selphie's mouth dropped. "Where is this girl? _Where_?" she demanded. "I'm going to kill her _myself_. It's _her _fault. Everything."

"Selphie, what are you …?" Irvine trailed off.

"Didn't you pay attention in any of your classes?" she asked. "_Perdita Memoria_… it means _lost memory_." With that, she went stomping through the house.

Squall looked livid. "So … your _normal _girl really is a psycho," he said sharply to Irvine, motioning for him to start looking through all the other papers for more hints.

But they found nothing else pertaining to the doctor or Perdita. Only regular diary pages, dealing with ordinary, every day things. Whoever had torn this place apart had been thorough. Now if they could just find Drea herself … and confront her. She could fill in the blanks for them …

Selphie's scream from the back of the house caused both men to take off at full-speed toward her. When they reached the back bedroom, it became apparent that the putrid scent permeating the house wasn't from one of Drea's experiments, but from Drea, _herself_. Irvine gagged and had to turn around. Selphie had already vomited in the corner of the room.

Drea was lying on her bed, covered in her own blood and other bodily fluids and excrement. She'd been disemboweled.

"He killed her," Squall said hollowly. "Because whatever this _Perdita Memoria _was …"

"He only wanted to use it against Rinoa," Selphie said weakly. "I found this … beside her …" She started to gag again, and turned away from Squall quickly so she wouldn't throw up on him.

"_C.B. says we can rule the world together … if we bring back the Sorceress. He says there's a Descendant of Hyne (whatever that is) at Garden, and he wants to use Perdita to get her. Says it's imperative to make the PM work for a __**Rinoa Heartilly**__. So I'm going to the party for their Commander tonight, hopefully I'll bump into her … I don't know. C.'s idea seems a little scary. I'm starting to get a little worried. But I think that tonight will also be the perfect opportunity to try it out the version I made for I.K. I'm not telling C. But I'm not waiting any more, either."_

Squall's fist bunched around the paper. "How did he miss this one?" he wondered. It seemed to have quite a lot of damning information on it. It didn't matter. They had it, and from it, they could deduce what had happened. The only thing they didn't know was exactly _how _the _Perdita Memoria _worked. He was no longer sure that mattered.

What mattered was, Drea had messed up. Because somehow, by using it on Irvine as well … she had unwittingly given Rinoa an ally.

And when Cyrus had found out … he had killed her, or _had _her killed. Chances were good someone else had done the job. Squall had a feeling that Cyrus would not have left such crucial bits of evidence lying around had he been here himself.

_Of course!_ he thought suddenly. _ He came to Garden to get Rinoa … and he sent someone else here to kill Drea._

Squall took a deep breath. "The other page says that Blakeslee worked for Odine. We're going to Esthar to find out what Laguna knows about this guy." He turned around and headed out of the house and marched resolutely for the harbor.

_Hold on, Rinoa. Please, just … hold on._

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**A/N: **Whew. The chapter that just kept going! XD BUT! We have progress! Lots more to come, I assure you. Thanks to everyone who's been reading this, it really does mean a lot to me. Hope you enjoyed this one! _  
_


	12. Angel Awakened

_**Chapter Twelve**  
**Angel Awakened**_

She learned that she could hurt him completely by accident. He had thrown her roughly into that gods-forsaken chair that had become all too familiar with, and her she had just _snapped_. Enough was enough. And she had had _enough_.

She was tired of being here … tired of every muscle in her body aching, tired of being degraded in ways that she never would have imagined possible before this ordeal. How many ways _were _there to beat and rape a person? Rinoa could now tell you at least twenty-five.

She was just _tired_. She wanted to go _home_. But more than anything, she wanted this bastard _dead_. All of a sudden, the rage in her broken body soared to an overwhelming degree, and she felt the familiar tingle in the palms of her hands. Closing her eyes, she concentrated as hard as she could, and heard the familiar chant in her head.

_Fithos. Lusec. Wecos. Vinosec. _

Once upon a time, it had been terrifying to her. Now, she embraced it. Because this wasn't _Ultimecia _in her brain, making her do things against her will. _This _was Rinoa Heartilly's mind, and Rinoa Heartilly's gods-given power. It was _all _she had right now. And she had her knight … he was looking for her, even now, and he'd keep her in the light. She would keep _herself _in the light, because she could do good for the whole world. She could save _herself _for once, and others who needed help.

Squall had said she was an angel … by gods, it was time to _prove_ it.

He came toward her with another syringe full of some vile-looking green liquid and she stretched out her hand as best she could in the restraints. The tingling in her hands was no longer merely an idea in her head, but an actual, tangible thing. It looked like tiny white stars were shooting from her fingertips and she used her mind to fling the stars outward.

It knocked him back, against one of his own tables, and Rinoa felt her heart leap. _It worked! It worked!_ He straightened almost immediately, and she did it again, putting a little more force into it this time, and he stumbled back again. _Not strong enough, not yet …_ Closing her eyes, she sent out a tiny plea. _If you can hear me, lend me your strength!_

There was mad rage in his eyes when he straightened again and he lunged at her with an animalistic growl.

Suddenly, Rinoa felt an enormous surge of adrenaline and power course through her. She was able to break the restraints at her wrists, and she flung out her hand, and sent out a bright beam of white light that knocked him across the room. He landed hard, and appeared not to be moving. Her heart raced. Had she killed him? Still feeling the adrenaline pumping through her, and momentarily having no pain, she unbuckled the restraints bounding her ankles and moved tentatively across the room. He was out cold.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she retrieved the key to her room that he kept in the front pocket of his lab coat. She still didn't know how to get out of here, but at least _now_, she could lock herself in her room, and he'd not be able to get to her. She would be safe, for awhile at least. Until she could figure out what to do next. But she wasn't finished with him, not yet.

By the time she returned to her room, the adrenaline had gone away somewhat, and every muscle in her body was _screaming _in agony. She lie down on her cot gingerly, and let out a long, shuddering breath.

That had felt _good_. And not just good in the fact that it had been a relief to defend herself that way … _it felt GOOD._ Pure. Not like when Ultimecia had been inside of her before. That had been dark, twisted, corrupt. The power that Ultimecia sent through her had looked like black ribbons, threading throughout the world, marring her vision of the good. It had made her feel icy cold.

_This _had made her warm all the way to the depths of her soul. This had been golden and bright as the sun. Her vision had been clearer, her mind sharper. _This _was where Rinoa Heartilly's power lie. In the light.

Sighing with relief for the first time in _weeks_, Rinoa allowed herself to sleep peacefully. For once, she had nothing to fear.

The only person who should fear anything was Cyrus Blakeslee. He had gotten his wish -- the Sorceress was back. But she'd _never _be what he wanted her to be. _Ultimecia _was no more, and she would never come to be.

Instead of _ending _the world … Rinoa was going to _protect _it.

xXx

Irvine and Selphie looked at Squall worriedly. They'd been walking through the streets of Esthar, on the way to the Presidential Residence, when all of a sudden, he had just _stopped _walking, and had gone into battle stance.

"Squall!" Selphie yelped, alarmed. "Are you okay?"

He nodded and gave the air a vicious swipe with his Lion Heart.

"Has he gone crazy?" Irvine whispered.

Selphie shushed him. "Look!"

Lion Heart had begun to shimmer faintly. "Hopefully that worked," Squall said, more to himself than to anyone else. _I hope that's what she needed_.

"What's going on?" Irvine asked as Squall re-sheathed the Lion Heart.

"Just helping," Squall said ambiguously. "Come on, let's get to Laguna's."

They arrived at the Presidential Residence shortly thereafter, and a short, slightly overweight blonde woman stopped them at the door. "Do you have an appointment?" she said brusquely.

Squall quirked his eyebrow at her. She was a new aide. "No, I don't, but if you could just tell Laguna that Squall is here …"

"If you don't have an appointment, you'll have to make one. The President is _very _busy," the woman barked. Apparently, she was _very _new. She didn't even know Laguna's "Squall-gets-in-no-matter-what" rule. "You're going to have to leave," she said, motioning for them to turn around.

"How long have you worked here?" Squall demanded.

The woman was slightly taken aback. "A couple of days, not that that should matter to _you_."

"Well, look, I'm _Squall_. Do me a favor and go tell Laguna that _Squall _is here," he said irritably.

The woman glowered. "Fine, all right, I'll go tell the President that there's some punk out here and _he _can deal with you, is that what you want?"

Squall nodded, rolling his eyes. "Please."

The lady walked off, muttering under her breath. Squall heard something about "being arrested" and just shook his head in disgust.

Less than two minutes later, Laguna was sauntering down the hallway towards them, with the aide following him, apologizing about the "disturbance, but these kids wouldn't take no for an answer".

Laguna smiled when he saw Squall, and then turned to the woman. "Annika, didn't we go over this?" He was not unkind when he spoke to her, just firm. "Squall is to be allowed in, no matter what."

"He didn't say who he was!" Annika retorted, her face turning scarlet.

"Yes, he did!" Selphie cried, unable to help herself. She clapped her hands over her mouth when both Squall and Laguna looked at her, their eyebrows quirked at identical angles. If the situation hadn't been so dire, Selphie might have laughed. How anybody could have missed the resemblance was beyond her. "Sorry," she whispered, turning red.

"That's fine," Laguna said kindly. "Annika, you may go." After the aide had left, Laguna turned to his son and his companions. "What brings you to Esthar? You heard about Ellone, I suppose?" It was then that Squall noticed the dark circles under Laguna's eyes, the drawn expression. He'd been worried sick.

Squall nodded. "That's part of it. But …" Frowning, he looked around. Talking about this out in the hallway probably wasn't a very wise idea. "Can we go inside to discuss this?"

Laguna looked startled for a second, and then nodded. "Oh, yeah! Of course, of course. Sorry, I've been a little preoccupied lately," he said, motioning for them to follow him into his sitting room.

Squall wanted to say something about the "lately" comment, but decided that now was not the time. After they were seated, Squall turned to Laguna. "Ellone is not dead," he said.

Laguna's head shot up. "What?"

"I'm surprised you didn't know," Squall commented. "She's been connecting with me for a while now." He sighed. "But I suppose she's been a little bit busy, with us at Garden. Look. I wanted to let you know that, first and foremost, so that you could stop worrying. She's alive."

"What happened at Garden?" Laguna asked, and Squall, Irvine, and Selphie started to fill the Estharian President in on everything that had happened in the past three and a half weeks.

"Wait," Laguna held up his hand after something Irvine said caught his attention. "Did you say Dr. Cyrus Blakeslee?"

"Yes," Squall said. "What do you know about him?"

"He used to work for Dr. Odine," Laguna said. "But then, after I had Odine locked away for his crimes against humanity, Blakeslee took over his lab. He seems like a good guy. Very smart. More stable than Odine ever was, that's for sure. Are you _sure _he's behind all of this?" Laguna scratched the back of his head nervously. "I mean, he was here at dinner with us, the night that Ellone went missing. And he was the first person back here the next day, offering to help out in any way that he could."

"And you don't find that odd?" Squall demanded, angry now. "Why don't you ever question _anything_? You let people walk all over you, Laguna, and you're too damn trusting! And look where it's gotten us." Laguna's laid-back, trusting nature was all well and good, but _not _when it came to matters of global security. "You're the gods-damned _President_," Squall added, quieter now. "And we are _going _to Dr. Blakeslee's lab, _right now_. He's got Ellone and Edea. He's fucking got _Rinoa _in there. Doing Hyne knows what to her as we speak."

"And you know this because …" Laguna said slowly.

"Because _Rinoa _told me. He kidnapped her, on the night of my birthday," Squall began, dreading to have to tell this part. "And somehow managed to make us all forget about her." He turned to Selphie. "Show him the diary pages," he said, nodding in Laguna's direction.

Laguna took the pages from Selphie with shaking hands, and as he read them, he couldn't deny it any longer. It wasn't the most _concrete _of evidence, but it was more than enough. "So this all started, basically, because this girl was obsessed with … I.K. Who's I.K.?"

Irvine raised his hand sheepishly. "That would be me."

"So when Blakeslee learned that this girl had created … this memory thing … he became interested in her work. And it was all a plot to get Rinoa?" Laguna's brow furrowed. "I don't understand what Ellone and Edea have to do with this, then."

"It's simple really," Squall said, standing up and pacing the room as he let all of his many erratic thoughts spill out. "Ellone and Edea were taken so that Rinoa could be blamed for their murders. He may have started out just wanting to gather up different women who might make good candidates for the Sorceress, but he knew all along which one he wanted."

"Because she was the last one to have the powers …" Laguna finished, and Squall nodded. "And by erasing all of your memories, Blakeslee figured he was severing a the bond, and that without the bond, Rinoa would go to the dark side." He turned to Squall then. "But … the bond _can't _be severed. Surely he would've known that! It's in all the old textbooks …"

Squall arched his eyebrow. "Textbooks?" he asked suspiciously. Laguna didn't read textbooks.

Laguna sighed. "All right, all right, _story _books, but still. It's in every single one. There is _nothing _short of death that can sever a Sorceress/Knight bond."

"Um, question!" Selphie said, raising her hand as though she were in school. "If that's the case, then what about Ultimecia? She went bad. Didn't _she _have a Knight?"

"And her Knight died because of it. Her anger at him leaving her consumed him as well as her, and he, being merely mortal, wasn't strong enough to withstand. So, when he died, the bond was officially severed, and Ultimecia as we know her, was born," a voice from the back of the room said, and everyone turned around.

"Quistis!" Selphie yelled, jumping up and running to her.

"Ellone?" Squall asked the older girl, and she nodded.

"The night you left, I was coming to look for you, but you were gone. Once I figured it out, it was easy enough to deduce where you were heading." She smiled. "Please tell me, though, how I seem to have made it here at the same time as you, considering I left two days later?"

Irvine explained to her about FH and Drea, while Squall turned back to Laguna.

Laguna's face was more serious now than Squall thought he had ever seen him. All he said was, "When?"

"Right now," was Squall's reply.

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**A/N: **OMG It's almost over! I hope you guys like this chap ... I'm seriously considering getting the next one up here later on tonight, as well. So enjooooooooooooooy! XD


	13. Day of Reckoning

_**Chapter Thirteen**  
**Day of Reckoning**_

She hadn't thought about what would happen next. And in all her haste to get away from him, she hadn't realized that she'd be locking herself in, with no way to get out at all. Her door locked from the outside … and she had the key with her … _inside_.

She discovered all of this upon waking. She wondered how long she'd been asleep. And then she wondered if Cyrus was still passed out. Had she done _serious _damage to him? Frowning, she considered blasting the door open with a tiny bit of magic. She concentrated, as she had done earlier, but felt nothing. No tingles, no tiny sparks of magic … nothing.

Perhaps she was drained? Or perhaps she wasn't supposed to use her magic for little things. It made sense … if you became too reliant on magic, you could easily lose sight of anything else.

Sighing, she sat back down on her cot, and winced a little at the stinging in her ribs. Earlier, her adrenaline had kept her moving and she hadn't been able to think about the pain. But now that things were settled down, the pain hit her like a Deling City bus. She glanced at herself in the tiny, grimy mirror and was suddenly overcome.

Her face was so swollen and bruised that it was almost unrecognizable. Her hair was matted and tangled. Her hands looked like they'd gone through a shredder. There was pain in parts of her body that she didn't realize could _feel _pain.

Bursting into tears, she wondered if she'd _ever _recover completely from what this monster had done to her. She was sure the nightmares would haunt her into old age.

She had no more time to reflect on her present situation, for there was an enormous clatter from outside, and she heard the sound of an inhuman, animalistic _thing_ making it's way to her door.

Her door suddenly flew open, and she shrank back into the corner, suddenly terrified of what was about to happen.

"Did you _really _think that it was going to be that easy, Rinoa?" Cyrus sneered. "Did you think, _honestly_, that that was the _only _key to this room? Stupid girl!" He slapped her across the face, and Rinoa felt that her eye might pop out of it's socket if he did that too many more times.

She moved to raise her hands and try to blast him back again, but he caught her hands roughly, and without a second thought, bent back the middle two fingers on her right hand until she heard a sickening _crack _and felt the unimaginable pain that coursed through her entire arm.

She screamed in agony as he stuck the syringe in her arm. Whatever was in there burned more than anything Rinoa had ever experienced in her life. She tried to fight him off, flailing, kicking, biting, scratching. And then her body went limp.

"Tranquilizer, Rinoa," Cyrus said, tisking at her like one did a disobedient puppy. "You've gotten a little out of hand here lately, and I'm going to have to do something about that."

She could barely move her head to look up at him. She was more than tranquilized … "Paralyzed …" she managed to whisper before she lost consciousness.

xXx

Laguna, Squall, Irvine, Selphie, and Quistis all arrived at Odine's Laboratory, and for a moment, they just looked at it. From where they stood, it appeared to be abandoned. "Are you sure that it's _here_?" Quistis asked quietly.

Squall turned his head slightly to acknowledge her. "Rinoa said it was underground. Far, far underground. There must be an elevator or something hidden somewhere inside."

Laguna looked thoughtful. "When we were imprisoned here, we were underground. But we heard talk that even _farther _below us was a sort of asylum where the victims of some of Odine's more heinous experiments were held. It's how he got away with it for so long … the people just disappeared, couldn't tell their tales, I suppose."

"So, like, any idea how to get there?" Irvine asked.

"I know how to get to the cells," Laguna said. "I'm sure the entrance to the asylum -- if it exists -- is in there somewhere."

"So we start there," Squall said. He immediately became gruff and business-like. Now was _not _the time for unnecessary fuck-ups. "Selphie, Quistis … when we get down there, you will find Ellone and Edea. I'm sure that he's holding them somewhere nearby him. He wouldn't want them to be out of his sight. As soon as you find them, you _leave_. Do you understand?" The two women nodded resolutely.

Squall then turned to Laguna and Irvine. "And you two … find Rinoa and get her _out_."

"What about you?" Laguna asked, though he was pretty sure he knew where this conversation was going. If something like this had ever happened to Raine, he certainly knew what _he _would have done.

Squall's eyes flashed venomously. "I'm going for Cyrus."

Quistis took a deep breath. "Squall … are you … I mean, _will _you …"

He knew what she wanted to ask, and for a moment, he wanted to answer with a resounding _hell yes_. But there was another part of him, a part of him that knew that no matter what else he was, he _wasn't _a killer. He _wasn't _Cyrus Blakeslee, and he never wanted to be.

"Only if I have to," he answered honestly. Quistis nodded, satisfied with the answer.

"But you're going after him _alone_," Selphie said worriedly.

"And I don't want you to worry about me," he retorted shortly. "You get Edea, Ellone, and Rinoa _out_ and take them back to Laguna's. No ifs, ands, or buts. Just _do it_."

He turned away from them and walked resolutely to the door of the lab. Laguna used his master key to get inside, and soon they were following the President through the labyrinthine halls toward the lift that would take them down to the prison floor.

The "prison" consisted of a main room, with three elevators leading to different sections of the lab along the wall. Down a long hallway were the actual cells, three on each side. They weren't ordinary cells though, Squall knew from his time spent in the past as Laguna. They were areas that the prisoners were forced to work in, making repairs or anything else that Dr. Odine hadn't felt like doing himself. To Odine, prisoners had been the equivalent of slaves.

"Which way do we go?" Selphie asked after a moment.

"We check all the rooms, and once we've found our way in, we split up," Squall said.

It took them less than fifteen minutes to find that there was absolutely no _way_ to get from any of the cells down to a lower level. Squall was beginning to wonder if the place Laguna had mentioned even existed at all.

"_Damn it_!" he cursed as he tossed his gunblade across the room in anger. It skittered across the floor and Quistis jumped a little at the clatter.

Suddenly Squall felt an sharp pain in his right hand; it was so overwhelming that he actually gasped. Then he _felt _her screaming. He couldn't _hear _her, but somehow, he just _knew_ that she was crying out in agony … she was being hurt at that very moment, and she was very _near_.

Selphie's startled squeak caused him to jerk his head upright and look at her. She pointed in the direction of Lion Heart.

It was glowing, the same soft glow it had emanated earlier, when Rinoa had been calling on him. He walked over to it and knelt down to examine it. It was then that he noticed that the area of the floor where the weapon lie was actually a hatch. "Hey," he said quietly. "This is it."

xXx

The staircase was narrow -- they couldn't walk side by side -- and interminably long. It was dimly lit and hard to see very far into the distance. Squall didn't think they'd _ever _reach the bottom. The staircase might well be leading them into the mouth of hell, for all he knew.

He took another step forward and, anticipating another stair, tripped upon reaching the landing. His knee cracked against the unforgiving concrete of the floor and he hissed in pain. He stood up and hobbled around ungracefully for a moment, trying to discern the severity. Satisfied that nothing was broken, he turned to the others.

He motioned for everyone to be quiet, and then gestured for them to move on. "Get them and _get out_," he whispered fiercely. "I'm serious. Nobody better try any hero crap."

Selphie rolled her eyes. "That goes for _you _too!" she muttered. "Just … be safe, okay?"

"Go!" he hissed.

They nodded, and everyone parted. All eyes were on the lone figure that walked down the hallway in the opposite direction; all thoughts were the same in that moment.

Were they seeing Squall Leonhart alive for the very last time?

xXx

Selphie and Quistis made their way down the corridors quickly and quietly. Now that they were in the old asylum, the lighting was better, though it was _freezing_. They peered in every door they came to, to no avail.

They turned a corner and found themselves facing an extremely long hallway, lit only by a single dim bulb that swung from a fixture about halfway down. The smell coming from the hallway was so horrible that it almost felt like a living creature, one that was oozing its way down their throats and permeating their nostrils.

"It smells like _death_," Selphie gasped out, holding her nose and trying not to retch.

"Let's go," Quistis said, nodding farther down the hallway. "There's a door at the very end … come on."

"We'll be dead by the time we get there!" Selphie protested, but she followed the older girl dutifully.

They reached the end of the hallway, the smell now heavy and thick in the air. Selphie would later swear that she could _see _a greenish fog all around them. Quistis tried the door, and found it to be, of course, locked.

"Now what?" Selphie asked, but Quistis was already pulling a pin out of her hair. "Good thinking!" It took Quistis a surprisingly short amount of time to get the door opened, and Selphie raised her eyebrows. "Do this a lot?"

Quistis rolled her eyes. "Oh, yes, _all _the time," she remarked sourly, pushing the door open.

The sight that met their eyes was beyond horror, beyond grotesque, beyond _anything _they had ever, and gods-willing, _would _ever, experience in their lives.

The room was only about the size of one of the dorms back in Balamb. At _least _sixteen corpses, rotted and maggoty, were strewn about the room. If the smell in the hallway had been bad, in this room it was _putrid_. Quistis was blinking back the tears that had formed in her eyes from the odor, and Selphie was already vomiting in the corner.

"Oh, my Hyne," Quistis choked. "Did he … did he kill all these girls?"

"Quisty?" A small voice came from the farthest corner of the room.

"Is someone here?" Quistis called back, unable to see in the dimly-lit area.

"Quisty!" Suddenly, one of the corpses was standing up and walking toward her, and Quistis instantly recoiled and tried to push Selphie back into the hallway. It grabbed her by the arm and she yelped.

But when she turned around, she saw that it wasn't a corpse. It was Ellone. She looked frightful … skin and bones, her hair limp and lank, her face sunken and hollow. "Elle?" Quistis choked. "You're alive!"

"Yes, yes, and Edea …" Ellone motioned at the older lady now walking toward them. She looked just as terrible as Ellone, and yet there was a happy light in her eyes at the sight of them.

"Oh, thank Hyne," Selphie breathed. "Not that I'm not _thrilled _to see you guys, but we really need to go. Before …"

The others nodded and quickly followed Selphie back to the stairwell. "It's a long way … will you be all right?" she asked the other two women, concern in her eyes.

"If it gets us out of here, yes, we'll be fine!" Edea breathed.

"Okay, then _go_!" Selphie motioned for them to go ahead. "We're supposed to take you back to Laguna's." She turned to Quistis. "Let's go." Quistis nodded, and the four women hurried up the stairs.

Once they were outside the lab, Selphie turned around and looked back at the building. "Two safe," she whispered.

"One to go," Quistis finished for her.

xXx

Laguna bowed his head in grief when he entered the laboratory. He and Irvine had split up to make the search speedier, but Laguna had not expected to find … _this_.

She was lying on what appeared to be a surgical table, her body covered in bruises of varying stages and severity. Her right hand appeared to be broken; the two middle fingers were bent at awkward angles. She had ugly red welts marring nearly every visible part of her. Laguna supposed they were from the electrodes that he could see attached to the chairs on the far side of the room. She was wearing nothing but an old muslin dress that was torn and ripped in various places, leaving her all but exposed.

Frowning, he looked around and saw the vast array of inhumane-looking machines and paraphernalia that were strewn about the room. Beside the table that Rinoa was lying on, in fact, was a sliding tray laid out with surgical tools. What had this monster done to her? And what was he going to do to her now that she was …

With tears in his eyes, he approached her and cautiously tried to cover her body as best as he could. He saw a tattered old blanket lying on another table, and he placed it around her gingerly, as though he were tucking a child into bed. He stood back from her, and for a minute just stared.

Aside from the bruises and lacerations, she looked peaceful. And so much like her mother … Suddenly overcome, he knelt down beside the table, and gently took her hand in his. "I'm sorry," he whispered hoarsely, taking her hand in his own.

"Laguna, I couldn't find any …" Irvine trailed off as he entered the room and saw the older man on his knees beside the table. When his eyes finally landed on Rinoa, sorrow such as he had never known filled him. "Rin?" he whispered, disbelieving. "_Dammit!_ We were too damn late!"

He went to the table and looked down at the girl. "There's not a part of her that's _not _bruised or bloody," he choked hoarsely. He brushed the hair off of her forehead softly, blinking rapidly at the tears that were forming. "We need to get her out of here before Squall sees her like this," he finally said quietly.

Laguna didn't move. "No." He said it firmly, more firm than Irvine had ever heard him. "No, Squall needs to see this. Look at her, Irvine," he said. "Looks like an angel, right? Any man who would do this to her … is not a man at all. And Squall needs to realize that."

Irvine's eyes widened in understanding. He'd never known Laguna to be one for retribution. But as he looked down at Rinoa's lifeless form, he understood. "This can't go unpunished," he replied dully.

When Squall entered the lab, the first thing he saw was Laguna, kneeling on the floor beside a surgical table, and Irvine beside it on the opposite side, looking down. He crossed the room quickly, his heart in his throat.

_No, no, no, no, no …_his mind chanted. But the nearer he got …

_Dark hair. Pale skin. Covered in bruises. Bloody. Not moving. Not breathing. Not … anything._

"_NO!_" he all but screamed it as he sprinted the rest of the way. He shoved Laguna out of the way. "_Rinoa_." Reaching into the pocket of his jacket, he retrieved the silver chain with the rings. He didn't know _why_ he hadn't given it back to her sooner. Leaning over, he carefully fastened the necklace around her throat.

For a moment, he just stared at her, and then he dropped to his knees. Taking her hand in his own, he pressed his lips to it.

Laguna swore he saw her eyelids flutter the moment Squall touched her … but that wasn't possible, was it?

"Well, well, isn't this interesting?" a cold voice sneered from the doorway. "Come to say goodbye, have you?"

Squall was on his feet as quick as lightning, facing the man -- no, _monster_ -- who was responsible for _everything_. "You _killed _her."

Cyrus Blakeslee laughed mirthlessly. "Oh, no, not yet. She's just been heavily sedated. She's such a troublemaker, that one. But then, I'm sure _you _already know all about that. It's a shame, really, to have to do this. She was quite a pleasant … _partner_." Cyrus cackled cruelly. "But of course, you already know _all _about that, don't you?"

He no longer cared about _anything _but maiming this bastard. "Laguna, Irvine, get her out of here," Squall said through gritted teeth as he rushed at the doctor, Lion Heart at the ready.

"Oh, no, that's not going to happen," Cyrus said, as he waved his arm and caused a blast of icy air to shoot through the room, knocking the three other men backwards. "You see, she belongs to me. And I'm not letting you take her."

"She doesn't _belong _to _anybody_!" Squall shouted, righting himself. His gunblade was halfway across the room now, thanks to whatever the hell it was the Blakeslee had just done. "But I'm not leaving here without her."

"Well, I can arrange for you two to leave together …" He shot another icy blast at Squall, this one stronger than the last. Squall was flung into the back wall, and when he tried to stand up, he found that he couldn't move.

Cyrus began crossing the room toward Rinoa, and Squall _hated _the fact that he was so helpless. _Damn _it, was there _nothing _that he could do? At the moment Cyrus reached for Rinoa, a gunshot cracked through the silence of the room.

Cyrus jumped back, shrieking in pain and holding his right shoulder, which was now bleeding profusely. Irvine looked triumphantly at him over the barrel of his rifle. Laguna took the opportunity to dive across the room and gather Rinoa in his arms.

"Get her out of here!" Squall yelled, as he finally managed to jump to his feet. Whatever sort of binding magic Cyrus had had on him seemed to have vanished with Irvine's shot, and he quickly recovered Lion Heart.

"_Noooo_!" Cyrus cried out, still clutching his shoulder. He ran to catch Laguna at the door, and sent out another blast of frigid air, but it didn't even cause Squall to flinch as he ran at the scientist.

Laguna tried to run straight into Cyrus in hopes of knocking him off of his feet, but the man seemed to be impossibly strong, and he managed to knock Rinoa out of Laguna's arms. She landed on the floor, hard, and Squall heard something _crack_ when she hit. Cyrus was now going for Laguna's throat, and Laguna was desperately trying to fight him off.

Irvine couldn't get a clear shot of Cyrus because of the way he and Laguna were struggling. But he could see that it was getting harder for Laguna to fight, as Cyrus' grip on his throat grew stronger. The sharpshooter looked helplessly at Squall, who was as lost as he was. If he tried to run Cyrus through with his gunblade, he risked injuring Laguna when he triggered.

Laguna's face was turning purple now, and Squall sucked in his breath and prepared to attack and pray for the best, when all of a sudden, an otherworldly sound filled the room.

"_Fithos. Lusec. Wecos. VINOSEC!_" The sound was a low, nearly inhuman growl. And it had come from Rinoa. She was still on her stomach, but she had lifted her head off the ground and was looking up at Cyrus and stretching out her hand. Squall thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but he _swore _that he saw a pair of translucent angel wings at her back.

A blast of blinding white light shot from her fingertips and knocked Cyrus completely across the room. His head smashed into a metal table and his eyes immediately went blank. Whatever it was she had done … had done it.

Rinoa's eyes met Squall's across the room, and she smiled faintly. "Squall," she breathed with her last bit of energy, and then she fell limply against the floor.

xXx

_Several Days Later, Presidential Residence_

Squall sat beside Rinoa's bed, holding her hand, and wondering if she was ever going to wake up. This whole situation … it was so familiar.

_Rinoa. I want to hear your voice …_

Was that _power _that she had used … had it been her final act?

His throat felt as though it was closing up, his eyes felt itchy and hot. He knew the tears were coming, but he wasn't ready to cry for her, not yet. She couldn't be dead. _Damn it, she can't be dead!_

"Mr. Leonhart?" The voice from the doorway caused Squall to look up. Laguna's personal physician, Dr. Everson, was standing there, a file in his hands.

"Are those the test results?" Squall asked, standing up. The doctor nodded. "And …"

Dr. Everson smiled kindly. "She's going to be fine. There's no damage to her brain."

Squall let out a long, shaky breath and ran his hands through his hair. "Then why hasn't she woken up?"

"She's been through a great deal of physical and emotional strain, Mr. Leonhart. And she outdid herself, there at the end." The doctor winked and grinned.

Squall nodded. Laguna, Irvine, and Squall had all agreed not to mention to anyone outside of Garden the full story of what had happened down in Dr. Blakeslee's lab, for fear of what would happen to Rinoa if word spread. But Dr. Everson had been Laguna's doctor for 18 years now, and Laguna trusted him implicitly. And he needed all the facts to correctly assess Rinoa's situation.

"So … she's going to be all right?" Squall asked.

"She'll be good as new in a few months," the doctor said, patting the younger man on the shoulder kindly. "She'll need to go someplace quiet to recuperate."

Squall nodded. He already knew where he would take her. Garden would have to do without him for a few months, because he would be staying with her until she was well.

"Perhaps you ought to share the good news with your friends?" The doctor's voice snapped him out of his reverie.

Squall nodded. "Of course," he muttered, casting a long look over his shoulder at the girl asleep in the bed. For _days _he'd worried himself sick, not sleeping, not eating, not moving from her side. Now he prepared himself to face Laguna, Irvine, Selphie, and Quistis to tell them the news.

When he walked into Laguna's sitting room, he was shocked to see that they had been joined by Seifer, Zell, Ellone, Edea, and Cid. Ellone smiled kindly when he entered the room. "I've been busy," she remarked lightly.

"What'd the doc say?" Zell asked.

"She's …" Squall paused and let it finally sink in. And he couldn't help the smile that came to his face. "She's going to be fine."

Selphie jumped up and squealed. "That's _great_!"

Quistis held her hand to her heart and sighed. "Oh, thank Hyne," she breathed, and Seifer, in an uncharacteristic move, took her hand in his own. She smiled at him faintly, suddenly very glad that he had made the trip to Esthar with the others.

Irvine didn't say anything, he just sank further into the cushions of the couch. But Squall knew how he felt. Overwhelmed by what they and Laguna had borne witness to. It wasn't anything that he thought they would ever be able to explain. The whole time was a big blur, mainly, but he knew one thing that was forever going to remain burned in his mind.

Rinoa had been _magnificent_.

He turned to Laguna then. "I need a favor," he said. "Can I talk to you alone for a minute?"

Laguna nodded, honored that his son was finally coming to trust him. Of course, after an ordeal such as the one they had just been through, very little else could be expected. He led Squall to his study and shut the door. "What can I do for you?" he asked.

"The house in Winhill," Squall said. "The doctor said she'd need a quiet place to recover. I … I want to take her there."

Laguna nodded solemnly, and reached into his top desk drawer and pulled out a small silver key. "It's yours," he said. "As long as you want it. Raine would be so happy if she knew …"

Squall nodded, thinking about the time they'd gone to Winhill, and how Raine's presence still seemed to linger there. "I think she knows," was all he said, and then he turned and walked out of the room.

He went back to the sitting room to find Zell. He had _one _more favor he needed to ask …

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**A/N: **Well, there you have it ... except, of course, the epilogue, which will be up VERY SOON. :)


	14. Epilogue: Till Kingdom Come

_**Epilogue**  
**Till Kingdom Come**_

_3 Months Later (December 20__th)  
The Flower Field_

They were supposed to be on their way back to Garden that night, but both of them had wanted to stop _here _first. They had spent the last three months in Winhill together, at first, just sitting in the little house that had belonged to Raine. When Rinoa had gotten a little stronger, they had started to take walks around the village.

It had been quiet there, peaceful. Their friends from Garden had come to see them a few times, but for the majority of the time, it had just been the two of them. They had been the sweetest, happiest months of Rinoa's life, and she knew that Squall felt the same way.

She was healed now, at least physically. The mental wounds -- those would take more time. But it was time for them to go back to Balamb. Squall had told her that he would give up being a SeeD, but she had refused to let him. He had responsibilities to them, and she had kept him away from those long enough. Someday, though, in the future, she thought it would be nice to settle down in a place like Winhill.

But right now, it was just the two of them. No one else existed in the whole world when they were here. Rinoa stared out over the field, in awe. It remarkably always looked the same, no matter what time of year it was.

There was a chill in the air, and she shivered a little. Squall came up behind her and put his jacket around her shoulders. He wrapped his arms around her midsection and settled his chin on top of her head. She leaned back against him, reveling in his nearness. "Have you ever noticed," she murmured. "That it always smells like cherry blossoms here, no matter what time of year it is?"

"Must be magic," Squall said, only half-jokingly. He had learned that there were some things that just couldn't be explained by everyday means … those things were magic.

"Magic, huh?" Rinoa said. She pulled away from him, and took him by the hand, dragging him out into the middle of the field. He was immediately reminded of a dance, nearly a year ago, and the thought made him smile.

"Where are we going?" he finally asked her.

She stopped then, looked around, and nodded. "Right here!" she said, grinning.

"Okay?" Squall said, not understanding her.

Smiling, she closed her eyes and put her hands together. It almost looked as though she were praying. He watched her with a bemused expression on his face. _Was _she praying?

Suddenly, she opened her eyes and spread her arms out as far as she could. Thousands of tiny, sparkling stars shot from her fingertips and filled the field around them. Her eyes lit up. "It worked!" she breathed.

"What kind of spell is this?" he asked, though he was impressed. He especially liked the way some of the stars had gotten caught in her hair. She looked more and more the angel with every passing minute.

"It doesn't really have a purpose," Rinoa shrugged, admiring the way the starlight looked reflected in his eyes. "I just think it's pretty." She plucked one of the stars from the air and held it in the palm of her hand. "I wanted to show you. As a kind of thank you, you know?"

"For what?" he asked, taking her hand in his own.

"For everything," Rinoa said, looking at him as though he'd gone crazy. "For saving me …"

He shook his head. "You saved yourself," he said firmly. "You saved us all."

She smiled shyly, and reached up to touch the rings around her neck. Frowning, she pulled the chain up in front of her face. "Where's Griever?" she asked, her eyes widening. "Oh, Hyne, don't tell me I lost it! Oh, Squall, I'm so sorry!" Her hand flew up to cover her mouth.

"Don't worry about it," he said nonchalantly, though inside his heart was racing. "I took it back."

"Oh, thank goodn … Wait. What?" Rinoa's eyes looked pained. "Why?"

"Because it's mine," he said, as though that was all the explanation she needed. He held up his hand to show her that Griever was indeed, back on his finger.

She bit her lip, hoping that she wouldn't cry. She'd really thought that … "Maybe I shouldn't have shown you these stars," she muttered, her voice bordering on angry.

She handed him back his jacket and turned around. Smiling to himself, he reached into the jacket pocket and pulled something out. He grabbed her by the upper arm and spun her back around. He hooked his fingers in her belt loops and tugged her closer to him. "I like the stars," he whispered seconds before his lips met hers.

His hand found hers as he kissed her, and he slid something onto her ring finger, which caused her to pull away quickly. She looked down at her hand, and saw a smaller, daintier version of Griever resting there. Her eyes filled with tears. "Oh," she breathed, not sure what else to say. She started laughing then and couldn't stop. She ran at him and jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around him, and caused them both to fall to the soft, grassy ground below.

Smiling at her, more content than he had ever been in his life, he rolled over onto his side, so that they were lying face to face. He kissed her gently then, and her laughter died away. "I love you, Rinoa," he told her.

She touched his face. "I love _you_," she whispered back.

He pulled her to him, and crushed her mouth with his own, his hands sliding up underneath her sweater to caress the soft skin of her back. He was cautious, he knew the ordeal she had been through, and didn't want to do anything to hurt or frighten her. But it was _Rinoa _who deepened the kiss, _Rinoa _who pulled him down on top of her.

"Rin?" he questioned her, searching her eyes for any sign of doubt or trepidation.

She looked up at him, eyes sparkling happily, and he understood then. She _trusted _him. She'd never compare him to that monster. And whatever _they_ did together would be beautiful and pure … there was no fear in her eyes when she looked up at him, only love. She slid her hands under his t-shirt, a ran her fingers along his skin, sending shivers throughout his body.

He knew they wouldn't be getting back to Garden any time soon …

_Ah, hell, Garden will still be there later,_ he reasoned when Rinoa nipped his bottom lip playfully, reaching for the button of his pants. Right now, this was _much more _important than anything that was waiting for them back there.

And as Rinoa's magical stars glittered above them, they came together in the place that would always be theirs.

They lay there for awhile afterward, her head resting on his shoulder, staring up at the sky. Rinoa flicked her hand lazily and all of the stars she had created disappeared instantly. "Maybe they're a little silly," she told him.

He shook his head. "I don't think so," he told her, nuzzling her neck gently.

She giggled. "No?" she sad, incredulously, raising up on her elbows. "Squall Leonhart, you actually _like _the frivolity of thousands of tiny little useless stars?"

He shrugged. "Whatever." He tugged on her hair lightly. "What else can you do?"

"Hmm, wouldn't you like to know?" she teased. "Maybe I'll tell you someday. If you're good." Grinning, she pointed to the sky.

His eyes looked skyward, like so many times before. And sure enough, a shooting star streaked across the sky at that very moment. He looked at her, eyes narrowed. "Did you do that?" he asked.

She just laughed as she leaned over to kiss him again. "Guess you'll never know."

THE END

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**A/N: **YES! It's finished! I can't even believe it myself. Hope you guys weren't expecting anything too heavy and deep with this epilogue. This was just a bunch of fluffy goodness that I couldn't resist putting in here! Thank you all soooo much for reading this! I really hope you enjoyed it.


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